Patriots Are a Potential Landing Spot for Future Hall-of-Fame WR

The New England Patriots have been linked to several strong players, and they may be the perfect landing spot for a future Hall-of-Famer.

According to some experts, the Atlanta Falcons may put Julio Jones on the trade block. Jones is 32 and his production was never an issue. Bill Belichick and his team can easily snatch the NFL veteran. Several reports have emphasized this possibility.

Here’s what Peter King from NBC Sports said:

“Surprises? Keep an eye on Atlanta. I can’t predict any bombshells. But a few things would not surprise me. Most notably, the Falcons putting the framework of a trade together for star wideout Julio Jones, and making the trade effective June 2. That way, Atlanta could split Jones’ cap charge between 2021 and 2022 instead of getting bashed with it all this year.

“So if such a trade happens, I expect it could involve a future pick or picks, nothing this year. (A future second-round pick as compensation seems fair to me.) Because such a trade wouldn’t be official till June, no picks in this draft could be involved. As for the interested team or teams, I would guess Las Vegas; Jon Gruden couldn’t resist Antonio Brown, and I doubt he could resist Julio Jones. New England too, and a couple of teams with clear receiver needs—Tennessee and Baltimore. Now, the Falcons don’t really want to trade Julio Jones. He’s a franchise legend. But he’s 32, entering his 11th season, coming off a banged-up year with seven games missed due to injury, and the Falcons are in cap jail. If they could off-load his money and cushion it by splitting it between this year ($7.75 million) and next ($15.5 million), Atlanta’s cap charge on Jones this year goes down by a tad more than $15 million.”

The Patriots may be the best landing spot for the veteran

Jones would be the No.1 wide receiver should Belichick get him. Many would agree that he is the best passing option New England has had since the trade for Randy Moss in April 2007.

Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated shared his thoughts on Jones’ arrival in New England. He can easily see Jones on the trade block in the offseason. Breer confirmed that the Falcons have received several offers on the five-time All-Star. The organization will probably get rid of the veteran in order to clean up the salary cap. The team is willing to listen to offers on pretty much every elite player on their roster. Deion Jones has attracted the attention of many coaches. However, the Falcons restructured his deal and kept him around. The same happened with Matt Ryan and left tackle Jake Matthews.