Julio Jones reportedly wants to play with this type of QB originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Offseason workouts have begun for all 32 teams across the NFL, and Julio Jones remains a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
The veteran wide receiver reportedly requested a trade months ago. It’s not too surprising the Falcons haven’t traded Jones yet, though.
Now that June 1 has passed, the dead salary cap hit the Falcons will receive in 2021 if they move Jones is just $7.75 million. That number would’ve been more than $23 million if he was dealt prior to June 1. So, with the dead cap hit lowering, the Falcons could have more incentive to trade Jones if that’s actually what they intend to do.
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What does Jones want? As ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports, the Falcons wideout is hoping to play with a specific type of quarterback if he’s traded to a new team.
The New England Patriots are one popular pick for people debating potential landing spots for Jones. It’s easy to see why that’s the case. The Patriots still need help at wide receiver and they have the salary cap flexibility to make a deal work. New England also has reportedly had “internal discussions” about a potential Jones trade.
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But do they have a “big-armed QB”? Cam Newton isn’t that type of quarterback anymore. The Newton-led Patriots passing attack ranked at the bottom of many different statistical categories last season, and deep passes were pretty rare.
What about Mac Jones? The rookie QB was super accurate at Alabama and launched plenty of deep passes to wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle during the Crimson Tide’s national title-winning 2020 campaign. But we still don’t know if Jones will be the starter Week 1.
If Jones is hoping to compete for a Super Bowl title and play with a quarterback who can throw a great deep ball, the Patriots probably aren’t the best spot for him.