Though some Indianapolis Colts fans would like to see the team make a splash for a superstar receiver, the offense is just fine as presently constructed.
After all, if Carson Wentz rediscovers his moxie under center, it really won’t matter who he’s throwing to. That’s obviously a huge hypothetical, but the former No. 2 overall pick literally has everything in place to revive his career after a forgettable final season with the Eagles.
Why do we feel the need to make this point? Well, for one, the Colts have been rumored as a potential destination for Julio Jones, who seemingly doesn’t have a future with the Falcons amid their ongoing efforts to find a willing trade partner.
The idea of Jones spending his remaining prime years in Indianapolis is mouthwatering, but general manager Chris Ballard apparently laughed at the idea of making such a trade.
Taking that into account, we might as well highlight a few reasons why the Colts shouldn’t orchestrate a trade for the seven-time Pro Bowler, right?
Here are three reasons why the Colts shouldn’t trade for Julio Jones.
3. Injury History and Age
Let’s start by declaring that Jones is showing no signs of slowing down. The former No. 6 overall pick turned 32 this offseason, and is just one season removed from recording 99 receptions for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns, the latter two of which ranked sixth and second in the NFL, respectively.
The season before that, Jones appeared in all 16 games and tallied 113 receptions (!) for 1,677 yards, which led the league, and eight touchdowns, which was two shy of his career high.
However, we’re a little turned off that Jones is almost always battling an injury. Whether it be a hamstring, foot or ankle issue, it feels like the Falcons star hasn’t had a clean bill of health in years. And you have to think (given his age) that his luck in the injury department will only worsen as he gets later into his career.
Julio Jones’ injury history should be a red flag for the Colts.
While you can argue that Jones’ durability concerns have been overblown — he played in at least 14 games in every season from 2014 to 2019 — we can’t help but express our uneasiness over the fact he was limited to just nine games last year due to a hamstring injury.
We totally understand the intrigue behind trading for Jones. After all, a superstar wideout is arguably the one piece Indianapolis is missing on offense. However, Ballard has never been a general manager that trades for a player who’s on the proverbial back nine of his career.
Throw Jones’ injury history into the mix, and you’ll realize a trade isn’t happening.
2. Jones’ Pricey Contract
If we’ve learned anything about Ballard during his first four years as the Colts GM, it’s that he’ll never absorb a contract that would paralyze his spending budget.
With homegrown stars like Darius Leonard, Quenton Nelson and Braden Smith due for contract extensions this offseason, trading for Jones (which means taking on his contract) would make it virtually impossible for Indianapolis to extend all three of those players.
When you consider that each of them is just entering their respective primes and that Jones is essentially exiting his, why would the Colts willingly swallow his three-year, $66 million extension that’s about to kick in next season? They (especially Ballard) obviously wouldn’t.
If the Colts trade for Julio Jones, they won’t be able to extend all of their homegrown stars.
For context, Jones will account for a combined cap hit of $61.57 million over the next three campaigns. That includes a dead cap hit of $65.7 million, so it’s not like Indy would be able to salvage anything if they decided to cut bait with him at any point during the contract.
We obviously think the world of Jones. In fact, we’d argue his consistency over the last 10 years has been grossly unappreciated.
However, if we had the choice between trading for an aging Jones and only being able to keep two (or one) of Leonard, Nelson and Smith or simply keeping the WR corps as is and ensuring all three of those three studs have futures with the Colts, we’d side with the latter every time.
2. Do the Colts Really Need Jones?
If the Colts were desperate for a wide receiver, then trading for Jones would make all the sense in the world. However, we would assert that Indianapolis has one of the deepest WR corps in the league. Seriously, try naming a team that has four impact players at the position.
You’d be hard-pressed to, and understandably so. After all, TY Hilton proved down the stretch last season that he’s still a borderline No. 1 option. You have to think the four-time Pro Bowler will enjoy more success with Wentz, who can better accentuate his skillset, running the offense.
Behind him, you have Michael Pittman Jr., whose rookie campaign was actually more successful than you think considering he underwent foot surgery early in the year. At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds, the 2020 second-round pick is a matchup nightmare in the red zone and is an absolute beast with the ball in his hands in the open field.
The Colts don’t need Julio Jones as much as you might think.
Then, you get to the likes of Zach Pascal and Parris Campbell.
If you recall how many injuries the Colts dealt with at wide receiver last season, Pascal was the one constant. He appeared in all 16 games and finished top three on the team in receptions (44), targets (71), receiving yards (629) and touchdowns (five).
Campbell, meanwhile, arguably has more upside than any of that trio. The former second-round pick back in 2019 has had an awful run of injury luck to start his career, but we’re talking about a player who can be one of the most dynamic slot WRs in the league if fully healthy, and word on the street is that he’s fully recovered from knee surgery.
So, we ask again: do the Colts really need Jones?
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