Julio Jones Draws Plenty of Interest -- From Other Players

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard is the latest to make a public plea for the former Tennessee Titans wide receiver to join his team.

The Tennessee Titans decided they had seen enough of Julio Jones, but an increasing number of NFL players – high-profile ones at that – are going public with their desire to see the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver on their teams.

The latest is Indianapolis Colts All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard.

Following Monday’s trade that sent veteran quarterback Matt Ryan to the Colts, Leonard quickly envisioned a reunion of Jones and Ryan, who were teammates for 10 seasons together with the Atlanta Falcons at Lucas Oil Stadium. It was Ryan, after all, who threw the overwhelming majority of passes that resulted in Jones’ 848 receptions during his decade in Atlanta.

Interestingly, the two combined count just over $56 million in dead money against the Falcons' salary cap this season.

“Matt (has) already thrown you a lot of touchdowns in the dome in Atlanta,” Leonard wrote, in part. “Y’all could finish what y’all started in Atlanta in the dome here in Indy!”

@juliojones_11 aye man hear me out! Matt have already thrown you a lot of touchdowns in the dome in Atlanta, y’all could finish what y’all started in Atlanta in the dome here in Indy! 👀

— Darius Shaquille Leonard (@dsleon45) March 21, 2022

Ryan will be the Colts’ fifth different starting quarterback in as many seasons. The kind of familiarity that he has with Jones almost certainly would provide a welcome bit of continuity to that offense.

That is, of course, if Jones is able to run routes with any sort of regularity. He missed seven games in his final season with the Falcons (2020) and seven more (plus parts of several others) last season with Tennessee.

That inconsistency in his availability was a factor in Tennessee’s decision to release him last week with a post-June 1 designation. The move also will create more than $9 million in salary cap savings.

Almost immediately after the decision was announced, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie made it known that he would be happy to play – and play only, if needed – alongside Jones.

“You don’t have to practice with us during the week, because it’s cold,” McKenzie wrote. “Just show up on Sundays.”

@juliojones_11 you don’t have to practice with us during the week, because it’s cold. Just show up on Sundays. #Whateverittakes

— Isaiah McKenzie (@_IsaiahMcKenzie) March 16, 2022

Matthew Judon, an outside linebacker with the New England Patriots, tweeted a picture of his quarterback Mac Jones, at Julio with the question, “What do you think about this?”

@juliojones_11 what you think about this ? pic.twitter.com/5Ngp2tLlzc

— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) March 17, 2022

And then there is former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who recently unretired and returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a third season. Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless said last week that Brady quickly reached out to Jones directly and shared some of the benefits of playing in the sunshine state.

An inside source told @RealSkipBayless that Tom Brady reportedly DM'd Julio Jones yesterday this message:

"Come on down to the sunshine here in Tampa and let's be great together." pic.twitter.com/raXX9h8Crz

— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) March 17, 2022

It is unclear what’s next for Jones, who recently turned 33 and has seen his production steadily decline over the past three years. Wherever he goes, though, it seems certain that he will be welcomed.