Will Julio Jones Be Traded From The Atlanta Falcons?

Published on May 24th, 2021 1:15 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


After the Atlanta Falcons drafted tight end Kyle Pitts at the NFL Draft, fans of the team were salivating over the possibilities.

Matt Ryan passing to Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage and Kyle Pitts? That would be an offence that would be very hard to stop.

Unfortunately for fans of the Falcons, this dream scenario doesn't look like it is going to come to pass.

At least, Julio Jones certainly doesn't believe that it is going to come to pass.

In an interview with Shannon Sharpe earlier today, Jones said that he was "out" of Atlanta, and that he expected to be traded.

Jones doesn't know where he will go, but he does know that he wants to go to a winner.

-

Trading Julio Jones is easier said than done.

After all, the Falcons don't want to just give him away, and Jones has a pretty hefty contract.

This leads to the possibility that Jones will be suiting up for the Falcons next season, and the odds reflect that.

As of this moment, the Falcons are the slight favourites to have Julio Jones in the fold on opening day of the season, but they are certainly not runaway favourites.

DraftKings has odds listed on Jones' next team - here are the likeliest candidates as of this moment:

Atlanta Falcons, +300
New England Patriots, +450
Tennessee Titans, +500
Los Angeles Chargers, +550
Indianapolis Colts, +600
Baltimore Ravens, +700
San Francisco 49ers, +700
Green Bay Packers, +1100

A number of these teams (Patriots, Colts, Ravens) could certainly use a big-name receiver, though would they be willing to pay the price to acquire Julio Jones?

The Falcons are certainly in a sticky situation, as they are going to have trouble extracting max value in a trade involving a star that is clearly disgruntled.

Will Falcons' fans get their wish and see Julio Jones lining up with Ridley and Gage on opening day, or will the Falcons move on?