Report: Eagles have spoken to Atlanta about acquiring star WR Julio Jones

Like clockwork, the Eagles are doing their due diligence regarding 7-time Pro Bowl WR Julio Jones. Per Adam Caplan of Inside the Birds podcast, the Eagles have spoken to the Falcons regarding a Julio Jones trade.

Caplan stated that the trade is unlikely due to lack of cap space, but Ertz could play a role in a possible deal. Earlier this week, I mentioned that the Eagles would have to start with Zach Ertz and Derek Barnett’s salaries to entertain Jones. The star receiver is guaranteed $15.2M next season and carries a cap hit of $23M.

Julio Jones became the fastest player to reach 12,000 career receiving yards last season and averages the most receiving yards/game in NFL history:

• Julio Jones: 95.5
• Calvin Johnson: 86.1
• Michael Thomas: 85.0
• Odell Beckham Jr: 83.3
• DeAndre Hopkins: 79.4

Jones had six straight seasons of at least 80 receptions and 1,300 yards before last season. To put that into perspective, the Eagles haven’t had a 1,000+ yard receiver since Jeremy Maclin in 2014. Just last season, the Eagles’ WRs combined for 2,082 total receiving yards, the third-fewest in the league behind New England and a run-heavy Baltimore team.

The 32-year-old WR isn’t an ideal fit for the Eagles in their current state, but if the team is looking to accelerate this rebuild, they could do far worse than obtain Julio Jones for their first-year starting quarterback.

>> Read More: Projected Eagles depth chart at running back in 2021

Rob Maaddi of 97.5 The Fanatic joined me on the latest podcast to discuss Jalen Reagor, Julio Jones, and more:

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Mandatory Credit: AP Photo | Danny Karnik