Julio Jones Won’t Report To Training Camp Unless Contract Is Addressed

Chris Mortensen reports that Falcons WR Julio Jones does not plan to report for the start of training camp on Thursday unless an adjustment is made to his contract.

Mortensen adds that the Falcons have been made aware of his stance.

According to Ian Rapoport, the Falcons have made clear to Jones they plan to restructure his contract next year, but that apparently isn’t enough to get him to report for the start of camp.

One option, according to Rapoport, would be for the Falcons to rework his deal and move money up from a future year, which is something other teams have done with star players.

Last week, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that while the Falcons have made it clear that they won’t rework WR Jones’ contract with three years remaining on the agreement, the team did promise to redo his deal after the season.

Pelissero explains that the Falcons didn’t address QB Matt Ryan‘s contract until he had two years left.

Another consideration for Atlanta is the fact that they made the decision to front-load his contract, which paid him $47 million over the first three years and explains why his remaining salaries are lower.

The Falcons are reportedly focused on addressing other players such as DT Grady Jarrett, LT Jake Matthews and S Ricardo Allen (NFLTR).

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.