Julio Jones wants out and the Falcons are willing to accommodate his request. However, if he’s traded, Jones may ask his new club for a fresh contract, according to a source who spoke with PFT.
As it stands, Jones is set to earn a guaranteed $15.3M in 2021. In 2022, he’s under contract for $15.5M in 2022, which is only partially guaranteed for $2M. Then, in 2023, he’s set to collect $11.5M, though that sum is completely non-guaranteed.
In total, Jones’ three-year, $66M deal gave him an average annual value of $22M and $64M guaranteed at signing. However, the Falcons have already paid out the bulk of those guarantees, so the 32-year-old may want his new team to have some skin in the game.
That would be yet another roadblock for interested teams, many of whom have already been scared off by the Falcons’ ask of a first-round pick. The Rams, for instance, have discussed Jones, but they’re already without their first-rounders in 2022 and 2023. The Seahawks have already surrendered their ’22 first-round pick, so they might not want to give up their next one and shell out a mega-deal for the aging star.
The Titans and the 49ers appear to be Jones’ most likely destinations right now, but it’s not clear if they’d be willing to give Jones a new contract. Either way, we should have more clarity on Jones’ situation this week when the Falcons are able to trade Jones as a post-June 1 transaction.
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