FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Julio Jones is using the same approach he took at the start of training camp last year: Report on time and wait for the Atlanta Falcons to offer a better contract.
Jones, a two-time All-Pro first-team selection and a six-time Pro Bowl pick, expects to rank among the highest-paid receivers in the NFL before too much longer.
A five-year deal he signed in August 2015 included $47 million in total guarantees, but that contract is so outdated it ranks Jones, one of the league’s most consistently productive players, 12th among receivers. The Falcons bumped his salary a modest $2.9 million last year with the assurance that another lucrative, long-term deal would be in place before the start of this season.
Jones, who ranks fifth among active players with 698 career catches and 10,731 receiving yards, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he wants to be a Falcon for life.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, left, clowns around with wide receiver Julio Jones as he arrives for his news conference Wednesday at the team’s training camp in Flowery Branch, Ga.“Yeah, no doubt,” he said. “For me, whatever I do in life and wherever I’m at, I want to be the best at it. I don’t put a cap on myself to be like, ‘Oh, I want to do this. I want to do this. I want this money. I want this. I want to be that.'”