Titans Trade for Julio Jones in Blockbuster Deal: Who Won the Deal?
“I’m out of there”. That is a direct quote from Julio Jones while on a phone call with Shannon Sharpe on the popular sports talk show Undisputed. Julio, in fact, was out of there, and it became official rather quickly as well. On Sunday, June 6th, the Falcons traded their prized receiver to the Tennessee Titans, an AFC playoff contender, for draft picks. Let us analyze the deeper details of this deal, look at the approach for both teams, and who won the trade.
Contract Details
The details of this trade are pretty detailed, but in basic terms, Jones was dealt to Tennessee, along with a 2023 sixth-round pick, for a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2023 fourth-round pick. Along with the acquisition, the Titans will be taking on Jones’ salary in 2021, which is $15.3M, along with the rest of his contract which extends through 2023. On the Falcons side, they will have to pay only $7.75M in dead money for the 2021 season, which is less than half of the salary Tennessee will be paying.
Atlanta Falcons
It was not a matter of if, but when the Atlanta Falcons were going to trade Julio Jones. Atlanta is moving towards a rebuilding phase and are in a rough spot from a cap space point of view. It has been reported that Atlanta is struggling to sign their rookies because of cap issues. Trading up Jones will easily free up cap space to sign these players, specifically first-round choice Kyle Pitts, TE out of Florida. The downfall to giving away Jones’ entire contract is that it likely cost them a first-round pick in return, which is mind-boggling figuring the caliber of player Julio Jones is. This trade shows how the Falcons see their future, but also holds the question, what is next for QB Matt Ryan?
Tennessee Titans
After making the playoffs for the second time in as many years during the Ryan Tannehill era, the Tennessee Titans are looking to get over the hump and bring a Super Bowl to Tennessee. Tennessee expects to be in the playoffs, making their draft choices a little more expendable, so the front office decided to make a splash and land WR Julio Jones. Tennessee is in win-now mode and has their star player locked up in Derrick Henry on a team-friendly deal, giving the Titans a little wiggle room to pay for Jones. Julio will join A.J. Brown, a rising receiver who is already considered a WR1, and will be catching passes from QB Ryan Tannehill, a proven starter in the NFL with plus arm talent. Jones makes this offense more versatile when Henry is not at his best, while also opening the field for the running game to be effective as well. This is an all-in move for Tennessee, who are likely now AFC South favorites with this move.
Who Won?
The winner of this trade is the Tennessee Titans because they are doing it to increase the chances of winning a Super Bowl. Atlanta, however, is moving away from that and will now enter the rebuilding phase, which is a painful phase to enter for a fanbase. Atlanta did not maximize Jones’ value by not getting a first-round draft pick back but will look to stockpile picks for the future. Also, the Titans won this deal because their future is clear. Atlanta, however, is not. Yes, you can say they are rebuilding because they traded Julio Jones, but why restructure Matt Ryan to free up cap space if he is not going to be your quarterback much longer. Atlanta is struggling with their identity as a team right now and needs to figure it out so they can make decisions based on that, rather than be stuck in the middle.
Contract details from spotrac.com
Julio Jones quote from Undisputed
Trade details from cbssports.com
Writer
-By: Richie Dordas