Atlanta won’t give WR Jones new deal
Report: Musburger to be Raiders’ voice
ATLANTA — Stifled by the salary cap, the Atlanta Falcons won’t be offering Julio Jones a more lucrative contract.
Not this year, at least. Now the question is: Will the star receiver show up for training camp?
The Falcons informed Jones several weeks ago they would not renegotiate his current $71.5 million package, which still has three years remaining and included $47 million in guaranteed money, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity Thursday because the talks have not been made public.
The team’s decision, which was first reported by The Athletic, does not preclude talks after the season on a deal more in line with Jones’ status as one of the NFL’s top receivers. But the Falcons do not believe they have enough financial leeway under the cap to renegotiate the contract in 2018.
The team hasn’t been told if Jones will be at training camp. Players are required to report next Thursday, with the first practice the following day.
Atlanta already agreed to a five-year, $150 million extension with quarterback Matt Ryan, the most lucrative deal in NFL history. The team is also focused on working out new contracts for defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, offensive guard Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen.
A flurry of new contracts during the offseason dropped Jones, who makes an average salary of $14.25 million, out of the top halfdozen on the list of the league’s highest-paid receivers. Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans, Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry and Kansas City’s Sammy Watkins are among those now making more per year than Jones, a two-time All-Pro who caught 88 passes for 1,444 yards last season.
In an apparent sign of his unhappiness, Jones skipped organized team workouts at the team’s training facility this summer, as well as a mandatory minicamp. But he apparently took part in Ryan’s private passing camp in California along with about a dozen of his teammates this month.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: ESPN is going with a fresh approach for its first 2018 regular-season broadcast of “Monday Night Football.”
Two announcers with plenty of NFL credentials but far more entrenched in the college game these days will be handling the Jets-Lions game from Detroit: Beth Mowins and Brian Griese.
“We are pretty excited to bring the franchise on the air, and hoping some pretty good story lines will play out,” said Mowins, who did last year’s second half of the opening doubleheader with analyst Rex Ryan. Mowins also does a few CBS telecasts of NFL games during the season, as well as Raiders preseason games, but her main gig is college sports.
Griese, an ex-QB who played 11 NFL seasons, is one of the top analysts of the college game, an often critical but fair voice.
“Guys who can shoot from the hip are always fun to work with,” Mowins says.
RAIDERS RADIO: The Oakland Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas, Nev., in 2020, also are moving on from their radio voice of the past 21 years, as the team said Thursday that Greg Papa will not return this season.
Brent Musburger, a broadcasting veteran who has worked for ESPN among other networks, is in line to replace Papa on the team’s broadcast as the play-byplay announcer, a source confirmed to ESPN. The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported Musburger as the replacement.
Musburger, 79, is already in Las Vegas with his fledgling Vegas Sports & Information Network channel, a sports-betting platform, on SiriusXM.
VIKINGS: Minnesota signed first-round pick Mike Hughes, putting its entire eight-player draft class under contract the week before camp begins.
The 5-foot-10, 189-pound Hughes was the 30th overall selection out of Central Florida. He made a strong impression during spring drills with the Vikings at cornerback and as a kick returner.