What is going on with the Julio Jones trade rumors?

Several weeks before the NFL draft in late April, news broke that the Atlanta Falcons were looking to trade star wide receiver, Julio Jones. The reason for this interest to move on from such a talented individual and someone that has contributed to success for his team comes down to one simple issue that the Falcons are facing, money. With the reduced cap space for the 2021 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as Jones’ current contract, the team couldn’t afford to keep him on the team much longer. So what is up with the Falcons and Julio? Why is he still with Atlanta? Who’s is going to acquire him, and when will it happen?

Because of Atlanta’s current cap situation, they were forced to wait until after June first to make a trade for the future Hall of Famer. This wait is mainly due to contract stipulations, and if they were to trade him prior to June first, they would be wasting an extra $20 million, instead of waiting and saving that money. Additionally, because of this wait, no team could offer any of their 2021 draft selections to the Falcons because the trade would officially go through after that draft would have taken place. So that is why he hasn’t been traded yet.

Now we get into the speculative part of this post, who will actually acquire Julio? In recent weeks, rumors have flown about suggesting that the Tennessee Titans are the current front runners to pick him up, ultimately giving up their 2022 second-round pick at the very least. Though this rumor could very well be true, it is also likely true that the Falcons released this bit of information to essentially tell the rest of the league that the stud pass catcher can be dealt for a first-round pick, an attempt to up the price. It is now rumored, since the trade can actually go through now, that nearly half the NFL is interested in making a move for Julio, making it difficult to predict where he will actually play in 2021. If we were to make a prediction as to where he will land, we would either say with Tennessee or with Baltimore. Both teams are in need of a number one pass catcher and both a desperate enough to take the bait to offer their first-round pick, however, only time will tell.

In conclusion, Julio Jones will certainly play outside of Atlanta in 2021, that is a forgone conclusion, as even he himself has stated that he is, “out of there.” That location now depends entirely on the Falcons organization and how far other teams are willing to go to bring in his talent.