Ravens to make a play for Julio Jones?

The NFL offseason never really feels over until Week 1. While some teams have started to meet for voluntary workouts, rosters for training camp are far from set.

One big name that feels inevitable to move is Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who recently said that he is out of there when talking about Atlanta.

This brings us to a team that naturally would show interest in Jones from the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore has tried to make it a point to upgrade the weapons quarterback Lamar Jackson is throwing to. They managed to sign Sammy Watkins and draft Rashod Bateman to pair with Marquise Brown thus far.

Now, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN says Baltimore is interested in a deal for Jones “if the price is right.”

Baltimore has been known to add receivers late in their careers in an attempt to capitalize on a few more years of quality play from a proven veteran. Anquan Boldin joined the Ravens when he was 30. Steve Smith Sr. joined Baltimore when he was 35-years-old. Both of these veteran players had several years of success for the Raven before moving on. Jones being 32 seems to be right in their wheelhouse. That idea also seems more important now that most of Jackson’s current receivers are so young.

It is hard to say what the price for Jones is, how many teams are seriously interested and what the Falcons are willing to give up. There are some rumors that the Falcons have an outlandish price, but also that they have received first round picks in offers.

Assuming a first or second-round pick is the minimum to get Jones in purple and black, it seems safe to think that won’t happen. Baltimore usually is more keen with adding veteran receivers like Jones via free agency where the only loss is financially or mid to late round selections like with Boldin. Jones’ contract also isn’t super team friendly.

There is always a chance that the Falcons or Jones could agree to help amend a few thing, but as it stands he has three years left on his deal and will have nearly a $20 million cap hit each of those three seasons with the best out being in 2023 where a team still will get hit with a $7.75 million cap hit.

On paper, Jones to the Ravens makes a ton of sense. However, there are a few logistics that make it seem less than likely that we will see the All-Pro wide receiver in the AFC North. You can never really count Baltimore out from taking a swing though.