Blank hopes Jones’ deal will be done before start of season

The wide receiver market shifted when the Saints signed Michael Thomas to a five-year, $96.25 million deal that has the potential to surpass the $100 million mark. The 26-year-old Thomas, a second-round pick out of Ohio State in 2016 has three 1,000 yard seasons to start his career and was an All-Pro last season.

Jones said recently that his agent, Jimmy Sexton, is still in the process of negotiating his contract extension. Sexton has not responded to several email and phone calls requesting an interview.

It has been projected that Jones' deal would be a three-year deal worth $51.8 million with $33 million guaranteed at signing, according to Spotrac. Jones' deal has two years remaining and is scheduled to make $9.6 million in 2019 and $11.4 million in 2020.

Blank stood behind his statement that Jones would be a “Falcon for life.”

“I’ve said this publicly and privately to Julio and Julio has said the same thing to me, both privately and publicly,” Blank said. “We expect Julio to be a Falcon for life and we have no reason to think that’s going to change at all.

“The negotiations continue to move along in a positive way. It’s a big contract and it’s complex and what have you. It takes a little more time than we’d like. Probably a little more time than he would like, but I know we are in a good place.”

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