Julio Jones on future in Atlanta: 'I'm outta there'
After months of trade rumors swirled around Julio Jones, it appears the perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver's days are numbered in Atlanta.
On Fox Sports 1's "Undisputed" Monday morning, Julio Jones was asked about his future with the Falcons, to which he replied, "I'm outta there."
"Right now, I wanna win," Jones continued.
The Falcons declined to comment to FOX 5 Sports regarding Jones' future and status with the team. Head coach Arthur Smith is scheduled to hold a virtual press conference Tuesday morning as part of the offseason training program.
Jones himself has not spoken with media since the 2020 Falcons season, in which he only played nine games due to injuries.
The 32-year-old requested a trade from the Falcons earlier in 2021, according to multiple reports.
General manager Terry Fontenot told FOX 5 Sports that he had been fielding calls about Jones prior to the NFL Draft in April. Team leadership consistently said publicly that any trade involving Jones would be due to the salary cap difficulties the franchise faced, not Jones' own wishes to be traded.
"That's one of those things when you're doing things the right way in an organization, you have to listen if people call, on any player," Fontenot told FOX 5 in April. "Especially, we are in a difficult cap situation, that's just the circumstance and it's not a surprise for us. We knew the circumstance we were in. Our administration has done an excellent job up to this point getting us in a position to be able to manage the cap, and yet we still have more work to do. So when teams call about any players then we have to listen and we have to weigh it and we have to determine what's best for the organization and we have to handle everything with class."
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 08: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 08, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Gett
Jones is the Falcons' all-time leader in catches (848) and yards (12,896), and he's behind only Roddy White for the franchise record with 60 touchdowns during his career, which has been played entirely in Atlanta.
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