Falcons Won’t Give Julio Jones New Contract, Still Hoping He Reports On Time For Camp

Jeff Schultz of The Athletic reports that the Falcons have informed WR Julio Jones that they have no plans to sign him to a new deal that would give him the pay raise he’s seeking.

According to Schultz, the Falcons are still holding out hope that Jones will report to training camp on time next week.

Schultz has spoken with sources familiar with contract talks who mentioned that the Falcons reaffirmed that Jones recently that they didn’t budget for a renegotiation of his contract this offseason and won’t rework his contract at this point in time.

Jones made the decision to skip mandatory minicamp last month, due to the fact that he wants more money.

League sources have told Mike Freeman of B/R that the relationship between the Falcons and Jones is “strained” and there is “tension” between the two, but it can be repaired.

Jones has been working out with Hall of Fame WR Terrell Owens this offseason, which has reportedly led to some concern from the Falcons.

Freeman spoke with Owens this week about the report that the Falcons are “uneasy” about his relationship with Jones.

“I have no idea where all of this is coming from,” Owens said. “I have nothing to do with Julio except training. This is the media trying [to] create something that’s not even there. It’s very unfortunate. What possible reason would they have to create that narrative?”

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that a few months ago Jones is looking for an “update” to his contract and the Falcons are reportedly open to the possibility.

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.