Holdout? What holdout? OK, so Julio Jones did miss that mandatory minicamp, but wasn’t he here now? Wasn’t he always going to be here?
Well, wasn’t he?
On Friday, the day the Falcons opened training camp, Jones offered his first public statements since back in the spring, when rumblings of his discontent began to appear on that mechanism on which all 21st century rumblings rumble – social media.
Sayeth Julio: “I was already going to come here. They took care of me. We knew all along that we were going to get it done. I talked to Mr. Blank as well yesterday, and he reiterated that I’m going to be a Falcon forever. There’s not a lot to talk about as far as that goes. There’s a lot of he-say, she-say, this way and that way, but it never came from my mouth. It never came from Dan Quinn’s mouth.”
Then: “Me and Q at the end of the day, we had our relationship. You don’t want to bring other people and (get) them involved in things like that. There’s a lot of he-say, she-say. Things can get twisted. It’s just being an adult and being a professional. As long as we kept up the communication and kept it authentic, I wasn’t BS-ing with him and he wasn’t BS-ing with me. We just waited.”
A recap. Jones missed the June minicamp, surprising even Quinn, who coaches the Falcons. ESPN reported Tuesday that Jones planned to withhold himself from this week’s proceedings; an NFL Network reporter tweeted that Jones “would be comfortable sitting out the entire time.” Then, very late Wednesday night, the Falcons issued a statement from general manager Thomas Dimitroff, which read in part, “We have come to an agreement with Julio” and mentioned a contractual “adjustment.”
So what, you might be asking, was all that? According to Julio, #FakeNews.
Jones: “A lot of people were running with information that there’s nothing factual about it. There’s a lot of stuff out there. Everybody wants to have the news. Everybody wants to be first to report this or report that, but there’s no facts involved.”
About here, one media person sought clarification. If Jones’ “adjustment” hadn’t come through, would he have been standing there in uniform?
“I’m here,” he said. End of quote.
Earlier, team owner Arthur Blank had said, “Quite honestly, I never really had any concern that he would not be here … I had confidence in (Quinn) and confidence in Thomas and confidence in J.J.”
So there was your #TalkingPoint of Day 1 of Falcons camp, as brought to you by a telecommunications conglomerate: Everybody knew Julio would show. Which is fine, I guess. What matters is that the great receiver has rejoined the fold, though nobody who works for the Falcons describes that fold as anything other than the B-word.
Jones: “TD (meaning Dimitroff), my agency, things like that -- I don’t control that kind of stuff. I’m just here to play football … It’s a Brotherhood. At the end of the day, I’ve got to hold up my hand and be prepared to go out there and give 100 percent (so) these guys can count on me each and every play.”
More contractual news, this part apparently un-fake, was trumpeted as Friday’s practice was ongoing. The Falcons have re-upped left tackle Jake Matthews for what’s being reported as five years at $75 million. (Which, not incidentally, is less than Jones’ pre-adjusted contract, signed in 2015.) Matthews was asked how it felt to Jones running his usual routes on the usual practice field, as opposed to those summer workouts that included Terrell Owens.
“I’m excited he’s here,” Matthews said. “He’s the best in the league at what he does.”
Indeed. That’s why the will-Julio/won’t-Julio discussion rose above the level of he-said/she-said. Something happened. Practices, to be scrupulously accurate, were missed. Reports quoting “sources” were issued. Then, at 11:57 p.m. Wednesday, the Falcons informed the world that No. 11 would come to camp. Had it all the way.
Speaking of the recalcitrant roof at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which actual witnesses have seen in actual retracting mode, Blank had, “In 35 or 40 years, nobody will remember” the time when it wouldn’t retract. That’s doubtless true. In 35 or 40 days, few among us will spare many thoughts for the odd summer of Quintorris Lopez Jones. We’ll be thinking instead of Jones’ team, which looks pretty spiffy.
Blank: “I think we’re in a good position. I like our team. I like our roster. I like our draft picks. I like the commitment to teammates. I like our self-confidence. There’s nothing really about this team I don’t like.”
Matthews: “We’re in a really good spot on offense and defense. We’re a really good team.”
And with Jones healthy and placated, who’s to say the Falcons won’t win the Super Bowl in the stadium with the finicky roof come February? “Could it happen?” Blank said. “Yes.”
But for all Friday’s dismissal of any Julio-related angst, be advised that the cover of the training-camp guide distributed to fans on site Friday bore the likenesses of several players. Matt Ryan was included. Devonta Freeman was included. Deion Jones was included. Grady Jarrett was included. Mohamed Sanu was included.
Julio Jones was not.
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