Did Falcons win or lose the Julio Jones trade?
It may not seem real just yet, but Julio Jones is no longer a member of the Atlanta Falcons. The team finalized a trade Sunday afternoon that sent the All-Pro receiver 250 miles north to the Tennessee Titans. In exchange for Jones and a future sixth-round pick, the Falcons received the Titans second-round pick in 2022 and their fourth-round pick in 2023. General manager Terry Fontenot drew a hard line in the sand and stuck to it, which is a tough task for a rookie GM. When looking at the Falcons offseason moves in totality, you can see why some are a tad skeptical. However, there are a number of variables that need to be accounted for when evaluating the trade. First off, keeping both Matt Ryan and Jones in Atlanta was always going to be a difficult task, and wouldve required restructuring both players contracts once again. This practice of continuously kicking more money down the road is what forced Arthur Blank to clean house in the middle of the 2020 season. Secondly, theres not much you can do as a GM when your teams biggest star requests a trade and then, unknowingly, doubles down on live TV. When assessing this trade, I view it as a very logical move for both teams. Of course, the Titans gained the most in the short term by picking up the best receiver in football (when healthy) to play alongside AJ Brown. However, the Falcons cant really complain. Not only did they receive two valuable draft picks, the team cleared over $15 million in cap space for 2021 and $4 million in 2022. These cap savings will be enough for Atlanta to finally sign its rookie draft class and still have enough left over for potential free-agent signings. So, in conclusion, neither Atlanta nor Tennessee should view this trade as a loss. Both teams added value, but in different forms. There is a chance, however, for the Falcons to come out of this trade as the bigger winners. If the Titans, who no longer have offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, falter in 2021, then it only raises the value of the picks they sent to Atlanta.