One NFL team is ready to make a big move on Julio Jones. According to Dianna Russini of ESPN, the Seattle Seahawks have had discussions about trading for Julio Jones with the Atlanta Falcons. Russini also reports that Jones and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has contracted each other about possibly playing together.
This comes days after Russini reported that the Falcons have an offer of a future first-round draft pick on the table for Jones who has been with the Falcons since 2011. It was also reported that the teams who are looking to trade for Jones are being asked for a first-round pick to send to the Falcons. The Seahawks don’t have a first-round pick for the 2022 season after the team traded for safety Jamal Adams last year.
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Trade rumors began to heat up when Jones appeared on FS1’s Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe. While talking on the phone, Jones said “I’m outta here,” when talking about his future with the Falcons. Team general manager Terry Fontenot told reporters in April that they would be taking calls on Jones, who is a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team.
“I really don’t want to make this about Julio because we hold the player in high regard — just like you guys do, just like everyone outside this building does,” Fontenot said in his pre-draft press conference. “The answer to that is just pointing to the cap and pointing to the fact that we’ll answer calls on any players. When teams ask about players, we have to answer those calls and we have to listen.
“We knew when we stepped into this that we were going to have to make some tough decisions because it’s just the reality of it. That’s where we are with the salary cap. So we have to make some difficult decisions so we have to look at all the different options and all the different scenarios.”
If Jones is traded, it won’t be until after June 1 because the Falcons can save money. Atlanta can move Jones after June 1 and would free up some salary cap space because the dead money owed to him would split between this year and next year. However, trading Jones is not something Falcons fans want to see as he’s arguably the best player in franchise history.
