Tuesday was a big day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as the team announced they've agreed to terms on a one-year deal with former All-Pro wideout Julio Jones.
Jones, 33, finds himself coming off of back-to-back injury riddled seasons. The last time Jones appeared in at least 11 contests, back in 2019, the former Falcon earned second-team All-Pro honors. This came off of a season where Jones recorded 1,394 receiving yards, with 6 total touchdowns.
In the years '20 and '21, where Jones battled injury, the pass catcher totaled 1,205 yards through the air, while crossing the plane on 4 occasions. Jones was able to play in only 19 combined games, tallying 82 receptions.
Now, entering the 2022 campaign, the Alabama alum looks to pick up where he left off when healthy.
For both parties involved, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this pairing. If you're Julio, you have a chance to prove you can still be a factor in this league, even at 33-years-old. For Tampa, you welcome an All-Pro to the roster.
The pairing of Julio Jones and the Buccaneers have their own specific benefits together, too. Let's talk about 2 of them.
2 Reasons Julio Jones And The Buccaneers Are Perfect Together
2. Much lower risk of injury
There's never been a question of Julio Jones' talent. Now entering his twelfth-season in the NFL, Jones has earned himself five All-Pro honors, and seven Pro Bowl appearances. In 2016, the former Falcon played huge rolls in helping his quarterback win the Most Valuable Player award, and assisting his team in getting to the Super Bowl.
The real question mark with Julio these days is his ability to stay healthy.
Here's the scoop, though. In Atlanta, Jones was the team's no.1 wideout. Not only was he the best pass catcher in Atlanta, but perhaps throughout the entirety of the league. As a result, Julio had at least 129 targets each year between '14 and '19. In 2016, Jones broke the 200 mark, being targeted on 203 separate occasions.
Through this six-year span, Jones would miss only four contests combined. It wasn't until 2020 that the Falcons' star receiver would break this streak of health, appearing in only 9 matchups.
After the '20 season, Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans, where he shared starting wideout duties with former Titan A.J. Brown. Unfortunately for the veteran receiver, Jones still battled injury, missing 6+ games for the second time in a two-year span.
What's important to understand in the two above situations: Julio Jones was a starting wideout his former teams both relied on. Now, in Tampa, Jones may very well be the WR3 behind the Pro Bowl duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This means Julio's usage rate should see a legitimate decline, even if the veteran wideout totals a high snap count. Ultimately, this minimizes the opportunities for Jones to suffer another injury.
With both Godwin and Evans lining up on the same offense, there's no longer a need to force Julio into a 120+ targets season. That's a big plus for Tampa Bay.
1. No risk on Tampa Bay's side
For the Buccaneers, there is legitimately no downside to bringing in Julio Jones. With Evans and Chris Godwin, the latter who was recently medically cleared to return to camp, having Jones is a luxury, not a necessity.
Of course, you hope your new All-Pro remains healthy, but either way everything is good. If Jones suffers an injury that keeps him off the field, not to worry, it's only a one-year deal. Now, if your new weapon proves to stay available, you have yourself a receiver room with three Pro Bowlers.
When healthy, Jones has proved to be one of the best pass catchers the NFL has to offer. Through the abovementioned timeframe of '14-'19, the former Falcon posted at least 1,394 receiving yards each year. With this, Julio earned six consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl.
In Pro Football Focus‘ eyes, Jones has been magical, even through his last two injury riddled seasons. His '21 grade of 74.2 was the second-lowest of his career, besting his rookie grade of 70.8. Through it all, Jones has never earned a PFF grade lower than 70.
These are some of the things Tampa Bay has to look forward to on their no risk one-year deal with Julio. On the flip side, if Jones misses significant time, Evans and Godwin remain.
Since coming into the league in 2014, Mike Evans has yet to have a season with under 1,000-yards receiving. This means Evans has been in the National Football League for eight-seasons, posting at least 1,000-yards through the air eight times.
Godwin has also been impressive, logging 1,103 receiving yards last year. In 2019, Godwin was given the honor of being a Pro Bowl recipient.
Best case scenario in Tampa: Three great receivers are keeping opposing defenses up at night. Worst case, there's only two, and Julio is on the books for 2022. Truly a no risk situation for the Buccaneers.
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