Chris Simms reported Tuesday that Julio Jones has the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans on his radar after requesting a trade from the Atlanta Falcons.
That said, Simms doesn’t necessarily believe the Patriots are a good fit for the superstar wide receiver.
Simms explained Monday on NBC Sports’ “PFT Live” why Bill Belichick should think twice about pursuing a trade for Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who’s entering his 11th NFL season at age 32.
“For New England, I’d be like, ‘No, you don’t need Julio Jones, either,’ ” Simms said. “You have a ton of offense, and these are the guys that have blown up in their face. A.k.a. Mohamed Sanu or Chad Ochocinco — aging veterans where Belichick might’ve had an affinity for at one point, but now he’s old and it’s dangerous and he’s breaking down. And that to me, this would be the ultimate, ‘Like New England, ooh, I don’t know if this is gonna work’ type move. So I don’t know if I buy that.”
Jones, the sixth overall pick in 2011, is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. He totaled at least 1,394 receiving yards in six straight seasons from 2014 through 2019 and has averaged 95.5 receiving yards per game for his NFL career.
But Father Time is undefeated — of course, Tom Brady might argue otherwise — and Jones missed seven games last season with a hamstring injury. While Jones remained productive when on the field in 2020, it’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots — or any other team — will feel comfortable relinquishing valuable draft capital and absorbing the three years remaining on his contract.
“Julio Jones, could he help out the New England Patriots? Sure,” Simms said. “But to the way that we would envision it? And him being like a big 1,500-yard type receiver and being a staple in the offense? I just don’t see that happening with the way the Patriots are built right now, and Cam Newton at quarterback and everything like that.
“And you’ve got a quarterback who’s gonna take over in the future in Mac Jones. What are you gonna do, trade away future assets to hinder his ability to develop and all those things? What for one, two years maybe with Julio Jones? That’s where it doesn’t make sense.”
Jones caught 51 passes for 771 yards with three touchdowns in nine games last season. A recent report indicated he’d like to play with Cam Newton, although doing so presumably would cut into Jones’ potential production if New England deploys a run-centric offense in 2021.
It seems like a matter of when, not if, Jones will be traded, especially after he acknowledged Monday on live TV that he wants out of Atlanta. But is New England the perfect match?
