When the Falcons traded Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans over the weekend, some were surprised to see the team accept a second-round pick for one of the best players in franchise history.
Arizona Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins spoke out on the trade package the Falcons received for Jones. When the Cardinals acquired Hopkins from the Texans, they received a second-round pick along with running back David Johnson. The fact that neither player received a first-round pick in return was a bit of a shock to NFL fans. Both Hopkins and Jones are routinely pegged as the best receivers in the entire league.
“That we’re not worth first-round picks, that the first-round picks are better than us, I would like to see a first-round pick who could do what Julio and myself do,” stated Hopkins to the Arizona Republic.
So why was a second-rounder selection the max value the Falcons could receive for a future Hall of Famer? There are a couple of reasons we can point to.
For starters, Jones is 32-years old and coming off an injury-riddled 2020 season. Once you get on the wrong side of 30, recovering from soft tissue injuries, like hamstrings, can become more of a problem for some to fully recover from. Additionally, ankle and foot injuries have become commonplace in Jones’ career. Per Sports Injury Predictor, Jones has an 83 percent chance of injury in 2021 and projected to miss three games as a result.
Another issue was Jones’ contract. The Falcons gave Jones an extension in 2019 that hasn’t even gone into effect yet. This includes a guaranteed salary of $15.3 million for 2021. Many of the teams involved with Atlanta in trade talks refused to pay his entire salary.
The NFL also had a considerable drop in cap space due to the COVID-19 pandemic and many of the teams interested in Jones were already low on funds. The Titans didn’t even have enough cap space to trade for Jones until they restructured the contract of Ryan Tannehill.
With AJ Brown set to become a free agent after 2022, the Titans are going to prioritize a contract extension with Brown before anyone. So, to circle back around to DeAndre Hopkins’ comments on the trade, Jones’ on-field value is undoubtedly first-round material.
However, when you add in the risks involved with bringing in Jones, it’s easy to understand why the team ultimately only got back a second-round pick.
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