Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones warm up before a home game against the Carolina Panthers last December.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn had good reason not to worry about Julio Jones showing up for training camp.
Jones told Quinn weeks ago he would report on time, even as the wide receiver sought to have his contract renegotiated. To outside observers, though, a training camp holdout appeared to be Jones’ best path to a new deal.
Finally, the Falcons announced close to midnight Wednesday they had reached an agreement to renegotiate Jones’ deal next year. The news came about 16 hours before the team’s deadline for players to report. The Falcons, who open training camp today, said Jones reported before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
“I probably didn’t feel the same stress that you and the fan base had,” Quinn said at a news conference Thursday. “There were some reports regarding him not coming. I’d known he was coming to camp for a while. That’s part of good communication, player to coaches.”
Quinn said he spoke with Jones earlier this month when the veteran receiver participated in an annual offseason passing camp in California led by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.