There's been a lot of talk about Julio Jones and his contract situation with the Atlanta Falcons.
Last training camp, the Falcons star receiver staged a brief holdout over his deal. Jones signed a contract a few years ago that has him woefully underpaid considering what other top wideouts are getting now, but the Falcons were reluctant to rework the contract with multiple years still left on it.
Eventually, they threw in some incentives and convinced Jones to report to camp. This time around, it has often seemed like things could be headed toward another holdout. We heard very little rumblings of progress, and the latest reports were that the two sides were still far apart.
But we have some good news today, as Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said the two sides “have had really good conversations” lately, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dimitroff's comments suggested they'll get an extension done at some point, although he did caution that “there is no particular time” a deal will get done by. It still could be a while, but things are at least headed in the right direction and should be wrapped up well before the season starts.
Jones still has two years left on his current contract and is set to earn a base salary of just $9.6 million next year. Whenever he does sign a new deal, he should challenge the one Antonio Brown just signed to make him the highest paid receiver in the league. Jones had another elite season last year and could push for something approaching $20 million per season.
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