Falcons Have Had Discussions With Julio Jones, Confident Deal Will Get Done By Training Camp

Falcons HC Dan Quinn said that they have had some discussions with WR Julio Jones and he’s confident a deal will get done before training camp.

“The good news is that there are conversations that have begun,” Quinn said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’ll keep those private. I have a lot of faith in the organization and also in Julio that things will get resolved with good communications. I’m sure that’ll be a part of it as well.”

On Monday, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff announced that Jones will not be in attendance for the start of mandatory minicamp this week:

“We have been in contact with Julio and his representation. We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive. We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective.  Although not ideal, Julio informed us today he would not be attending mini-camp.

“We have much respect for him and what he means to our team, our city and our fans.”

Last month, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Jones is looking for an “update” to his contract and the Falcons are reportedly open to the possibility.

Jones also elected to skip voluntary workouts this offseason, so it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out as training camp rolls around.

Jones, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2011. He’s currently in the fourth year of his six-year, $81.432 million contract that includes $47 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $10.5 million and $12.5 million over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2017, Jones appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons and caught 88 passes for 1,444 yards receiving and three touchdowns. He also contributed 15 yards rushing on one carry. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 3 receiver out of 116 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Jones as the news is available.