Report: Patriots Never Had Serious Interest In Acquiring Wideout Julio Jones

The New England Patriots showed some sort of interest in wide receiver Julio Jones. Well, that’s what most experts thought a few weeks ago. The elite wide receiver seemed like a good fit for the Patriots. He wanted out of the team and the Atlanta Falcons traded him. Oh, they didn’t trade him to New England. Jones is making his way to the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta will get a 2022 second-round draft pick and a Day 3 pick swap.

Many thought that head coach Bill Belichick would try his best to get Jones. He lost Julian Edelman in the offseason and signing a veteran wide receiver is always a good idea. Jones is a talented player and he would be the No.1 option for the team.

According to recent reports, the Patriots didn’t make a strong push for the veteran. Several NFL teams were rumored as potential landing spots for the seven-time Pro Bowler.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t have a huge interest in Julio Jones

Albert Breer from MMBQ and Peter King from NBC Sports discussed the Patriots (lack of) interest in Jones and they both share the same opinion. Breer wrote that the Patriots “never showed real interest to Atlanta in Jones.” King reported that the Patriots “never had serious interest in committing $38 million to a 32-year-old receiver.”

The Titans will take on the entirety of the contract. Atlanta is getting a nice salary-cap space. Jones had six straight 1,300-yard seasons before he was limited to nine games in 2020. He carries a $15.3 million in the season.

Jones would have given the team a game-changer to headline the receiving unit. Belichick has Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski, Marvin Hall, Isaiah Zuber, Kristian Wilkerson, Devin Smith and seventh-round rookie Tre Nixon.

Hall has spent some time with the Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns. He signed with the Patriots last week.

Belichick likes his current roster and the Patriots will try really hard to make the playoffs in the upcoming season. He spent a lot of money in the offseason after all.