Julio insists he wasn’t worried
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Julio Jones insists his status for training camp was never in doubt.
The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver was there for the start of the Atlanta Falcons’ preseason practices Friday after missing a mandatory minicamp in June while asking that his contract be reworked.
Jones dismissed reports he wouldn’t report without a new deal as “he said, she said” speculation.
“We knew all along we were going to get it handled,” he said.
For coach Dan Quinn, the most important fact was seeing No. 11 catching passes from Matt Ryan.
“It was awesome to have him back,” said Quinn, adding Jones’ routes were “really sharp and clean.”
Jones drew cheers from fans when he caught a pass on the sideline in front of cornerback Desmond Trufant late in the practice.
On Thursday, general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team made an “adjustment” to Jones’ five-year, $71.5 million contract. Jones is entering the third year of the deal.
Dimitroff said the tweak to Jones’ deal wouldn’t affect the team’s hopes to negotiate contract extensions for safety Ricardo Allen, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and left tackle Jake Matthews. On Friday, the team agreed to a five-year, $75 million extension for Matthews.
The biggest new deal of all came earlier in the offseason — a five-year, $150 million extension for Ryan, the most lucrative contract in NFL history. Ryan’s contract and the team’s talks with Allen, Jarrett and Matthews were among the reasons Dimitroff said the Falcons couldn’t renegotiate Jones’
contract until after the season.
Jones confirmed he told Quinn this month he would report to training camp.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said at the NFL owners meeting in May he expected Jones to play his entire career with Atlanta.
“Our relationship has always been excellent,” Blank said Friday, “so I had the confidence in Thomas and the confidence in J.J. being a great Falcon for us not only on the field but off the field and a leader in the locker room.”
Asked if it was difficult to be away from the team for the mandatory minicamp and other offseason work, Jones said he told Quinn, “It was just me getting healthy as far as some stuff with me, getting back right and feeling 100 percent.”
It’s not unusual for Jones to be included on Atlanta’s game-week injury reports, but he has missed only three games the past four seasons. He has broken his right foot twice, at the NFL combine in 2011 and in 2013, when he missed 11 games.
Jones has remained one of the NFL’s most productive receivers. He had 88 catches for 1,444 yards and three touchdowns in 2017. Jones and Marvin Harrison are the only players in NFL history to have at least 80 catches for at least 1,400 yards in four straight seasons.