Falcons star receiver Julio Jones will report to training camp, general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement released by the team late Wednesday night.
Jones was unhappy with his contract.
“We have had continued dialogue all offseason with Julio and his representation,” Dimitroff said in the statement released at 11:57 p.m. “We have come to an agreement with Julio, and we will re-address everything in 2019. I appreciate everyone’s hard work and communication on this.
“This adjustment does not impede us from working on other extensions with other key members of our football team. We will continue to work on those contracts going forward.”
Falcons players report to training camp Thursday in Flowery Branch and the first practice is Friday.
Jones, a five-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro, caught 88 passes for 1,444 yards and three touchdowns last season. He’s the team’s top offensive weapon.
The Falcons, with Jones on board, are Super Bowl contenders.
Jones was threatening to hold out and he could have been fined $40,000 a day for not reporting to training camp. The last Falcons player to hold out was wide receiver Roddy White in 2009. He held out for six days.
Jones and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, were informed a month ago that he would not get a new contract after he skipped an optional offseason program and the mandatory minicamp in the contract dispute.
The Falcons told Jones they had not budgeted for a renegotiation this offseason and were focused on contract extensions for defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, left tackle Jake Matthews and free safety Ricardo Allen.
The team said the adjustment will not impede their progress on the other planned extensions.
Jones signed a five-year, $71.2 million contract extension on Aug. 31, 2015. The deal included $47 million in guaranteed money, with base salaries of $10.5 million (2018), $12.5 million (2019) and $11.4 million (2020). He was set to be the ninth-highest-paid wide receiver in the league. It is not known how much of an adjustment was made to his contract.
Jones was not happy after the market shifted over the offseason with deals signed by Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans (five years, $82.5 million), Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry (five years, $75 million) and Kansas City’s Sammy Watkins (three years, $48 million). Now add the deal the Rams gave Brandin Cooks (five years, $80 million) last week.
The Falcons publicly stated they were optimistic a resolution would be made before training camp.
“We have been in contact with Julio and his representation,” Dimitroff said in a statement released in June following Jones’ decision not to attend the mandatory camp. “We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive. We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective.”
Jones joined Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who signed a five-year $150 million extension in May, and other receivers in California for a passing camp last week. Ryan said at the end of minicamp he believed Jones would take part in the camp. Jones was pictured with 10 others, including Ryan, in a post on first-round draft pick Calvin Ridley’s social media account.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank was undeterred about the news that Jones had planned to sit out training camp.
Blank contended that Jones would be a “Falcon for life” when reached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.
Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn, who both received three-year contract extensions on Wednesday, are co-leaders of the football operations and were charged with getting the Jones situation resolved.
“That’s their job and it’s my job to support them,” Blank said when reached on his cell phone in New York. “If they need help, they’ll ask for it. I’m always available to them and they know it.”
Blank was confident that Jones would be back with the team.
“He’s going to be a Falcon for life,” Blank said. “I’m convinced of that and so is he. We’ll take it from there. But we are all focused on the same thing. I think that we are in good shape.”
The owner was apparently correct.
2018 AVERAGE PER YEAR FOR WRs BEFORE JONES’ ADJUSTMENT
1. Antonio Brown, Steelers: $17 million
2. Mike Evans, Bucs: $16.5 million
3. Brandin Cooks, Rams: $16 million
4. DeAndre Hopkins, Texans: $16.2 million
5. Sammy Watkins, Chiefs: $16 million
6. Jarvis Landry, Browns: $15.1 million
7. A.J. Green, Bengals: $15 million
8. Davante Adams, Packers: $14.5 million
9. Julio Jones, Falcons: $14.2 million
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