All good things eventually come to an end. NFL starJulio Jones said goodbye to the Atlanta Falcons, the franchise where he rose to stardom, to embrace a new challenge with the Tennesse Titans at 32 years of age.
Thewide receiver has been linked with a move away from the Falcons the entire summer, as he was understood to have requested a trade. Although Atlanta would have preferred him to stay, they eventually sent him to Tennessee in exchange fora 2022second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick.
With less than a week for the beginning of the 2021 NFL season, Atlantaās life without Jones is just about to start and his departure is still a topic of discussion. If not, check out what Falcons owner Arthur Blank had to say.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank shares thoughts on Jonesā departure
For the football community, Jonesā exit from Atlanta began when heformally requested for a tradeearlier this year, but according to the franchise owner, it began way before.
In 2019, Julio Jones signed a three-year contract extension worth $66 million. Albeit they found an agreement and those negotiations didnāt break down, for Arthur Blank it was at that moment when things began to go south:
āLook back at the Julio situation in 2019,ā Blank toldThe Athletic. āWe, being Thomas (Dimitroff), coach (Dan)Quinn, the player and his agent, were all kind of at odds with each other.
āWe got a contract done. We felt it was very generous. It made him the top paid receiver in NFL history. But for whatever reason, he felt it wasnāt sufficient respect. I donāt know why heād feel that way, but he did feel that way.ā
Julio Jones left the Falcons after ten seasons. (Getty)
Even though those talks eventually led to the contract renewal, they may have damaged Jonesā relationship with the franchise: āIt changed. And if you spoke to the players on the team, not that they would say anything, but I think they would tell you the same thing.
āLook, he gave us 10 great years. Heās going to be a Hall of Fame player. He was a good teammate for all that period of time. His ability or willingness to practice the way he did early in his career was different. There were some people who were in the building who had an effect on him. He wanted out.ā
The Falcons were looking forward to keeping Jones for longer, but it made no senseto hold onto a player that didnāt want to play there anymore. The former sixth-overall pick has joined a mighty Titansā offense, while Atlanta will try to have inCalvin Ridley their strongest receiving option.
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