When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed Julio Jones this offseason, there were high expectations that he would be among the team's starting wide receivers. Many fantasy football owners probably saw a big year for him too, especially in a pass-heavy offense led by Tom Brady.
Unfortunately, those hopes got an early hit on Tuesday when Jones ended up on the team's second string. In the latest depth chart for the Buccaneers heading to Week 1, the team opted for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage as their starting wideouts.
As for Jones, he's in the second string along with Jaelon Darden and Scotty Miller.
The move is rather interesting, to say the least, especially since Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was recently complimentary of Julio Jones in his first stint with the Buccaneers. But then again, as Bowles explained, the decision not to start Jones might be because of their current need for the upcoming Week 1 game.
There is also the possibility of the Buccaneers being cautious of his health. While he has started in all but one game of the matches he played throughout his 11 years in the NFL, he was plagued with a hamstring injury last season.
“Well, he can play,” Bowles said of Jones, per CBS Sports. “When we got him, he was kind of out of shape so we kind of limited his number of plays during practice. He's kind of gotten to the point where he's returned to his old self. He's been great mentally, he's been great for the guys in the room as well as out on the practice field, [defensive backs] alike. Right now, he can play. We have a bunch of receivers that can play so the pitch count should be kind of even depending on who we play and how we play it. We think he can lend a lot for us – we've just got to knock on wood and keep him healthy.”
It remains to be seen what the Buccaneers plan to do with Jones, but the early signs are certainly not looking good.
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