It appears the Falcons and wide receiver Julio Jones are careening toward a split. Jones has asked for a trade while Atlanta undergoes something of a rebuild, and a player of his caliber is going to garner plenty of interest around the league. ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday reported the Falcons are asking for a first-round pick in exchange for the seven-time Pro Bowler, but they’re not expected to receiver such compensation.
If that is the case and no team is going to part with a first-round pick for the 32-year-old, that means good news for the 49ers. They traded both of their next two first-round picks to move up to No. 3 in this year’s draft.
It’s not a given that the Falcons will hold onto Jones if no first-round pick is offered. He carries for them a $23.05 million cap hit this year according to Over the Cap. His cap hits the next two years both eclipse $19 million. Atlanta this season finds themselves in dire straits from a cap standpoint. They’re working with just $410,351 in space according to OTC, and shedding Jones’ salary via post-June 1 trade would save them $15.3 million this year and $11.513 million over the next two years.
That cap savings for Atlanta is important in regards to what teams will be willing to part with for Jones, who turned 32 in February and played only nine games last season because of a nagging hamstring injury. There are only a handful of teams with the salary cap space to take on a contract of that size, and the cap hit combined with the injury-riddled season and his age could make teams wary of unloading premium draft capital for the two-time First-Team All-Pro.
San Francisco is among the teams that could use Jones and fit him in under the salary cap with a little maneuvering. There’ll be competition for Jones as long as he’s on the market, but Schefter’s report and the details surrounding a possible deal make it clear the 49ers have a legitimate shot at the star receiver even without the benefit of first-round picks.
[listicle id=666926]