With new contract signed, Jones held in check

MINNEAPOLIS — Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones was thankful to get his contract situation resolved before the start of the 2019 season. Jones agreed to a three-year, $66 million contract extension before the team flew to Minneapolis Saturday.

“I had some peace of mind,” Jones said after the 28-12 loss to the Vikings in Sunday’s season opener. “I talked to (owner) Mr. (Arthur) Blank. Just talking about how appreciative I am of him and vice versa. The love I have for the organization and things like that. That’s out the way now. It’s more on us now and getting ready to play football.”

Jones, with the $22 million average per year, is the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. He said that status wasn’t that important to him, but that his family really cared about it. Jones, 30, sensed that this was either his last or next-to-last mega deal and he spoke of his family and trying to create generational wealth for them.

With the business completed, Jones had a rough day against the Vikings, who double-teamed him with cornerback Xavier Rhodes and a safety. Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith helped Rhodes defend Jones, who caught six of 11 targets for 31 yards and a touchdown.

“They had two players over him basically the entire game,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “That makes it tough.”

Jones said he was expecting the extra attention. He had averaged just 54 yards receiving in his three most recent games against the Vikings. With Jones heavily guarded, tight end Austin Hooper got nine targets, and wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu had six targets each.

The Falcons needed a bigger game from Jones and nothing else seemed to work.

“We had a lot of penalties,” Jones said. “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. They had like a 80-yard drive, but it was like 30 yards of penalties to let them out of the hole. We control all of this. It’s not them, it’s us. We just have to do better.”

Jones believes the Falcons will rebound. “Good or bad happens, get the next play,” Jones said. “Whatever happens, happens. That’s where the training comes in at.”