Falcons taking calls on Julio Jones

[Dante84]

A hamstring injury limited Jones to just nine games last season, though he still put up strong numbers when he was on the field. He caught 51 passes for 771 yards and three scores as the Falcons finished the year 4-12. From 2014-19, Jones missed only four games and averaged 104 catches and 1,564 yards per season. SI Link.

The #Falcons have received calls from teams inquiring about possible trades for All-Pro WR Julio Jones, sources say. A trade could not happen for cap reasons before June 1, but teams know Atlanta’s brutal cap situation and are calling. A deal won’t happen now, but later? Maybe.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2021

From NFL Now: The #Falcons have been receiving calls on All-Pro WR Julio Jones, and while it's somewhat unlikely they get the value they would want, it's not impossible. A look at how it would work... pic.twitter.com/kZArO6t578

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2021

The #Falcons have been listening to trade offers for star WR Julio Jones, per @peter_king and @AlbertBreer. Atlanta has one of the worst cap situations in the league and trading Julio effective after June 1st would create $15M in cap space and save the big dead cap hit for 2022.

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) April 26, 2021

From Peter King:

Surprises? Keep an eye on Atlanta. I can’t predict any bombshells. But a few things would not surprise me. Most notably, the Falcons putting the framework of a trade together for star wideout Julio Jones, and making the trade effective June 2. That way, Atlanta could split Jones’ cap charge between 2021 and 2022 instead of getting bashed with it all this year. So if such a trade happens, I expect it could involve a future pick or picks, nothing this year. (A future second-round pick as compensation seems fair to me.) Because such a trade wouldn’t be official till June, no picks in this draft could be involved. As for the interested team or teams, I would guess Las Vegas; Jon Gruden couldn’t resist Antonio Brown, and I doubt he could resist Julio Jones. New England too, and a couple of teams with clear receiver needs—Tennessee and Baltimore.

Now, the Falcons don’t really want to trade Julio Jones. He’s a franchise legend. But he’s 32, entering his 11th season, coming off a banged-up year with seven games missed due to injury, and the Falcons are in cap jail. If they could off-load his money and cushion it by splitting it between this year ($7.75 million) and next ($15.5 million), Atlanta’s cap charge on Jones this year goes down by a tad more than $15 million.

One final note here, to be very clear: I am not reporting the Falcons will trade Jones, or will probably trade Jones. I am saying it would not surprise me if it happened.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by O.city

He's 32 and is always injured.

We just got rid of a WR just like that. No thanks.

Tbf before last year he played 15, 16, 14, 16, 16, 15 games in the 6 years before that.

[Dante84]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I actually agree with him.

I'd rather have a guy that can suit up than one that can't, regardless of talent level.

While it's worth noting that he was out a significant time last season, I don't know that holds true historically:

A hamstring injury limited Jones to just nine games last season, though he still put up strong numbers when he was on the field. He caught 51 passes for 771 yards and three scores as the Falcons finished the year 4-12. From 2014-19, Jones missed only four games and averaged 104 catches and 1,564 yards per season. SI Link.

Definitely need to rely on Rick and his team of doctors to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze here.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Hell no i wouldn't trade them Hardman either.

And why in the world would anyone give up on him? What is there to even give up on? A good player that's lightning fast, an absolute weapon as your 4th-5th option?

Hardman can be aloof at times and hasn't quite gotten the chemistry with Pat down yet, but the skills are all there.

If all you consider as skills is speed. Then yeah. But as of now, he's a good gadget player, poor receiver. Hence us looking for a #2 WR right now.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by -King-

Tbf before last year he played 15, 16, 14, 16, 16, 15 games in the 6 years before that.

Yes, and clearly, guys get more healthy as they get older.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yes, and clearly, guys get more healthy as they get older.

Never said that. But as of now, last year seems like the outlier

[wazu]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I actually agree with him.

I'd rather have a guy that can suit up than one that can't, regardless of talent level.

Julio Jones had more yards than Hardman last year even though he only played in 9 games. Before that he had 1400 or more yards for like 6 straight years. (Something Hardman will never do, even if they expand to 20 game seasons and he never gets hurt.)

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by -King-

If all you consider as skills is speed. Then yeah. But as of now, he's a good gadget player, poor receiver. Hence us looking for a #2 WR right now.

He's shown to have some of the most reliable hands on the team and has had made big plays in big situations.

He's a slight framed slot receiver. They want a bigger, stouter WR on the outside. What they want on the outside has nothing to do with Hardman. They've ALWAYS had a "type" that they want on the outside and Hardman doesn't fit that description.

I don't know where you're getting this poor receiver shit from.

And don't bother with this "he's a poor route runner" bullshit because that's a made up argument if i ever heard one.

No one on this forum is watching all-22 film of all of Hardman's routes, and even if they did, i'd still question if they knew what they were even looking at.

[New World Order]

Julio is still elite. Yes please.

[Rainbarrel]

Rather grow/pay my own drama.

[In58men]

Did we trade for this piece of shit yet?!?!?

Get it done Bert Verch!!

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

He's shown to have some of the most reliable hands on the team and has had made big plays in big situations.

He's a slight framed slot receiver. They want a bigger, stouter WR on the outside. What they want on the outside has nothing to do with Hardman. They've ALWAYS had a "type" that they want on the outside and Hardman doesn't fit that description.

I don't know where you're getting this poor receiver shit from.

And don't bother with this "he's a poor route runner" bullshit because that's a made up argument if i ever heard one.

No one on this forum is watching all-22 film of all of Hardman's routes, and even if they did, i'd still question if they knew what they were even looking at.

Most reliable hands? Wut?

If he was a good WR, Reid would find a way to make him work and get him on the field. Instead if we get a #2 WR that can play 16 games, Hardmans touches will come few and dad between. He'll be even more of a end around/jet sweep guy than he was last year.

[ToxSocks]

What we can ACTUALLY see from Hardman based on his 2 seasons. Not made up shit like, "oh i think he's a poor route runner".

Hardman:

Pros:

Blazing fast (stretches the defense, forces them to play honest)
Good/great hands
Home-run hitter after the catch
Plays big in big moments
Versatile slot player who's an asset in WR screens (which the Chiefs rarely run), end-rounds etc.
He can be used as a gadget player, but is not limited to being one.

Cons:
Seems to have trouble knowing where to be in a zone
Doesn't have the best chemistry with Pat
His size may be a factor in his ability to get off the press, thus limiting his role on the outside.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by -King-

Most reliable hands? Wut?

If he was a good WR, Reid would find a way to make him work and get him on the field. Instead if we get a #2 WR that can play 16 games, Hardmans touches will come few and dad between. He'll be even more of a end around/jet sweep guy than he was last year.

Yes. Some of the most reliable hands.

Obviously not on par with Kelce. Tyreek has his share of missed opportunities but will give him the nod based on sheer volume.

But are you going to try to argue that Pringle and Robinson have better hands?

And Reid DOES find a way to make him work and get him on the field.

Hardman fills a specific role on this team. And he's damn good at it. Getting a Julio Jones etc won't change anything about his role or production.

[The Franchise]

Where are fitting his $15 million dollar cap hit?

[Chris Meck]

Julio is a great WR on the back end of his career.

I'd rather not give away draft capital to get him. If he was a FA I'd be interested.

We really should be trying to get younger and more talented at WR, so that those guys are ready to shoulder the load as Hill and Kelce inevitably decline in the future.

Although I expect Hill to be productive well into his mid-thirties, he will likely slow down some.

Kelce probably has 3 more seasons at peak performance before he slows down.

Jones would help in 2022, but I'd like to solve the positional issue for the next few years rather than just for now.