The Patriots probably aren’t too upset with the Falcons’ decision to trade Julio Jones to the Titans over the weekend, as all indications since the deal have been that New England had little interest in acquiring the superstar wide receiver.
Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard reported Tuesday, citing sources, that New England’s interest in Jones was “very minimal” and therefore the Patriots didn’t enter the sweepstakes.
“I didn’t hear his name once in the building,” a source told Bedard.
This aligns with the reporting of other NFL insiders, including Peter King, Albert Breer and Jeff Howe, all of whom painted the Patriots as not wanting to pony up the compensation necessary to land Jones.
Breer wrote Monday that New England “never showed real interest” in Jones, while King reported the Patriots “never had serious interest in committing $38 million to a 32-year-old receiver.” Howe noted the price point — either with the trade package or the Falcons eating money — needed to change for the Patriots to become more interested.
The Titans traded a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Falcons for Jones and a 2023 sixth-rounder. Tennessee seemingly is absorbing Jones’ entire contract, which required the Titans to restructure quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s deal to fit the veteran wideout under the salary cap.
“If the price dropped on compensation and his contract, then maybe (the Patriots) would have had some interest,” Bedard wrote Tuesday.
Of course, that didn’t happen. And as a result, Jones is off to Tennessee where he’ll join the likes of Tannehill, Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown in an offense filled with talent.
Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, is one of the best wide receivers in league history. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl seven times and has earned First- or Second-Team All-Pro honors on five separate occasions.
The longtime Falcons cornerstone is entering his age-32 season, though, after a 2020 campaign in which he was limited to nine games due to injury. So, there definitely is some risk associated with trading for Jones and the three years remaining on his contract, which runs through 2023.
