According to Fox NFL insider Jay Glazier via Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, the Baltimore Ravens were the team that called the Falcons about Jones, but that a trade is unlikely due to Jones’ contract.
https://twitter.com/BillyM_91/status/1387556082353156099?s=20
Eric DeCosta is one of the best talent evaluators in the league and was one of the leading reasons he succeeded Ozzie Newsome. DeCosta drafted Marquise Brown in the first round of the 2019 draft, Miles Boykin in the third round of the same year, and Devin Duvernay in the third round of the 2020 draft. I feel safe saying the Ravens have struggled to draft receivers as those three players have combined for 156 catches for 2,018 yards and 22 touchdowns over the last two seasons — a clear motivator to inquire about Jones, who would instantly elevate the receiver room.
Terry Fontenot noted that he has fielded calls but chalked it up to the team’s standing with the salary cap because one doesn’t trade a player of Julio’s caliber willy nilly. I did include Baltimore in my trade candidates piece before the report came out, an excerpt from that article:
The AFC North is shaping up to be one of the toughest divisions in football, and Eric DeCosta has $15 million in cap space to improve the Ravens roster. Just about every analyst or expert has Baltimore drafting a wideout with one of their first-round picks, 27th or 31st — the latter received from Kansas City in the Orlando Brown Jr. trade. DeCosta has pushed the narrative that he likes the wide receiver group they have. Still, there’s no denying the effort made in free agency to improve the weapons around Lamar Jackson being unsuccessful. As far as a scheme fit, Jones going to a run-centric offense like Greg Roman’s doesn’t make much sense. However, the Ravens have plenty of draft capital and cap space to make a trade happen, as well as being the best place in this article for Jones to add a championship to his already-Hall of Fame résumé.
Even though a team might be willing to absorb all of Jones’ contract, I doubt there would be enough draft capital attached for Fontenot to pull the trigger. A team would have to give the Falcons fair value while also taking on the full load of his contract and until that happens… there won’t be a trade involving Julio Jones.
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