Where is Julio Jones going? Pressed up against the salary cap, the Falcons need to get his contract off their books. But is there a team that’s willing to give up much to take on a 32-year-old receiver with a $15 million base salary?
Jacksonville, Denver, Cincinnati and the Jets have the most cap space, but I don’t think any of those teams would be interested.
Detroit has cap space and a glaring need at wide receiver, but they’re looking long term. I would think they’d have no interest in Jones (matching his interest in playing for them).
The Patriots, 49ers and Colts look like at least plausible landing spots. All rank in the top 10 in cap space, and all are contender-type teams (which will interest Jones). There was a report last week suggesting New England was looking into Jones, while Kyle Shanahan previously coached him. But all three of those teams have other pass-catching options; I’m not sure that any of them have a burning desire to land Jones.
Three other teams rank in the middle tier in cap space (not in the top 10 and not in the bottom 10), and look like possible suitors: Baltimore, Kansas City and Green Bay. Baltimore has been linked to him before (terrible idea, in my opinion, but it’s out there). With Green Bay, there’s the theory that the addition of Jones might be a good peace offering to Aaron Rodgers, but it doesn’t look to me like something they would do.
Kansas City, in my opinion, looks like the most intriguing possibility. That’s a team that’s dependent on passing the ball, with the game’s best quarterback, yet it really has only two reliable pass catchers. They don’t have much of anything behind Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill; what would happen if one of those guys gets hurt? Hill had hamstring issues in 2019, while Kelce is 31. So would make a lot of sense if KC added another big-time weapon as it tries to nail down another Super Bowl.
Tennessee is the other option that looks realistic to me. It needs a wide receiver to replace Corey Davis. They signed Josh Reynolds to a cheap free agent deal and drafted a couple of guys in the later rounds, but unlikely that any of those players can step in and give them quite what they need. Jones would fit nicely there. But Tennessee doesn’t have much cap space, which would need to be figured out.
Jones is on the back end of his career, so he’s not necessarily a top-10 receiver anymore. He’s had some problems with injuries. But I looked into the numbers some, and 19 times in the past 20 years, a receiver who’s at least 32 has finished with top-10 numbers. And in the last 20 years, there have been 44 receivers that old who’ve at least finished the top 20 (those 19, plus another 25).
That’s using PPR scoring.
In the chart below, you’re seeing not only 32-year-olds but guys who are even older. Of the 44 players listed, 13 of them were 32 at the end of the season.
| TOP-20 WIDE RECEIVERS WHO WERE AT LEAST 32 YEARS OLD | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | Rec | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2006 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 34 | 95 | 1,366 | 12 | 303.6 | 1 |
| 2009 | Randy Moss, N.E. | 32 | 83 | 1,264 | 13 | 289.4 | 2 |
| 2006 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 33 | 85 | 1,180 | 13 | 283.0 | 2 |
| 2004 | Joe Horn, N.O. | 32 | 94 | 1,399 | 11 | 301.9 | 2 |
| 2010 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 32 | 111 | 1,355 | 6 | 282.5 | 3 |
| 2007 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 34 | 81 | 1,355 | 15 | 307.0 | 3 |
| 2017 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 34 | 109 | 1,156 | 6 | 263.7 | 5 |
| 2004 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 32 | 86 | 1,113 | 15 | 287.3 | 5 |
| 2001 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 32 | 112 | 1,373 | 8 | 297.0 | 5 |
| 2019 | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 33 | 100 | 1,117 | 6 | 258.8 | 7 |
| 2015 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 32 | 109 | 1,215 | 9 | 284.5 | 7 |
| 2005 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 34 | 83 | 1,287 | 10 | 272.1 | 7 |
| 2001 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 35 | 91 | 1,165 | 9 | 271.4 | 7 |
| 2012 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 34 | 106 | 1,355 | 5 | 271.0 | 8 |
| 2011 | Steve Smith, Car. | 32 | 79 | 1,394 | 7 | 268.0 | 8 |
| 2003 | Keenan McCardell, T.B. | 33 | 84 | 1,174 | 8 | 255.4 | 8 |
| 2005 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 33 | 82 | 1,146 | 12 | 268.6 | 9 |
| 2013 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 32 | 109 | 1,407 | 5 | 279.7 | 10 |
| 2002 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 40 | 92 | 1,211 | 7 | 257.1 | 10 |
| 2016 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 33 | 107 | 1,023 | 6 | 245.8 | 11 |
| 2008 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 35 | 69 | 1,052 | 10 | 237.5 | 11 |
| 2009 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 33 | 95 | 1,167 | 6 | 247.7 | 12 |
| 2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 34 | 94 | 1,147 | 6 | 244.7 | 12 |
| 2004 | Isaac Bruce, St.L. | 32 | 89 | 1,292 | 6 | 254.2 | 12 |
| 2001 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 39 | 83 | 1,139 | 9 | 250.9 | 12 |
| 2005 | Rod Smith, Den. | 35 | 85 | 1,105 | 6 | 232.2 | 13 |
| 2007 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 33 | 103 | 1,087 | 5 | 241.7 | 14 |
| 2013 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 33 | 85 | 1,179 | 7 | 246.0 | 15 |
| 2004 | Rod Smith, Den. | 34 | 79 | 1,144 | 7 | 238.7 | 15 |
| 2010 | Terrell Owens, Cin. | 37 | 72 | 983 | 9 | 224.3 | 17 |
| 2009 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 35 | 73 | 1,028 | 7 | 218.0 | 17 |
| 2005 | Keenan McCardell, S.D. | 35 | 70 | 917 | 9 | 216.3 | 17 |
| 2002 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 33 | 80 | 1,027 | 7 | 226.9 | 17 |
| 2014 | Steve Smith, Balt. | 35 | 79 | 1,065 | 6 | 221.5 | 18 |
| 2008 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 32 | 81 | 1,043 | 7 | 227.7 | 18 |
| 2005 | Eddie Kennison, K.C. | 32 | 68 | 1,102 | 5 | 212.5 | 18 |
| 2002 | Rod Smith, Den. | 32 | 89 | 1,027 | 5 | 222.6 | 18 |
| 2014 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 34 | 83 | 1,062 | 5 | 219.6 | 19 |
| 2009 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 34 | 70 | 1,061 | 6 | 213.4 | 19 |
| 2004 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 35 | 74 | 1,172 | 6 | 227.2 | 19 |
| 2012 | Steve Smith, Car. | 33 | 73 | 1,174 | 4 | 217.1 | 20 |
| 2008 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 34 | 80 | 1,037 | 5 | 216.0 | 20 |
| 2006 | Terry Glenn, Dall. | 32 | 70 | 1,047 | 6 | 211.8 | 20 |
| 2003 | Rod Smith, Den. | 33 | 74 | 845 | 3 | 195.9 | 20 |
—Ian Allan