Should Colts explore signing Julio Jones after Titans release?
The Indianapolis Colts have another free agent receiver they can sign after Julio Jones was released by the Tennessee Titans.
Nearly one year ago, Julio Jones was a highly coveted receiver. The Atlanta Falcons were fielding trade offers for him and just about every team was inquiring.
The Tennessee Titans won the sweepstakes sending a second- and fourth-round pick to Atlanta for Jones and a sixth-round pick. Everyone immediately thought about how scary an offense with Derrick Henry, AJ Brown, and Julio Jones would be.
However, things didn’t pan out as everyone imagined. Although Tennessee finished with an AFC-best 12-5 record. The trio of elite skill players only played five regular-season games together.
Now, a year later, the Titans have released Julio Jones and he is free to sign with any team he wants.
The Titans are planning on releasing WR Julio Jones, sources tell @AdamSchefter and me
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 16, 2022
Many will argue that Jones isn’t what he once was, but can he still offer a level of production that wide receiver-needy teams like the Indianapolis Colts can use?
Could the Colts benefit from signing Julio Jones?
Jones turned 33 years old in February and has played 11 seasons in the NFL. The seven-time Pro Bowler is certainly a future Hall of Famer and one of the best receivers of the last decade.
However, the question teams will have to ask is what can Jones currently offer.
Last season in Tennessee, Jones only played 10 games as he battled a hamstring injury. In his final season with the Falcons, 2020, Jones played in just nine games. So his availability at his age will be a question for interested teams.
When he was actually on the field last year he was able to still make plays but his overall production had dropped. In the 10 games for Tennessee, Jones was targeted 48 times and caught 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown.
His best performance was in Week 2 when he caught six passes for 128 yards.
Ultimately, Jones can still offer production but it would be foolish for a team to expect to get the receiver that made six-straight Pro Bowls from 2014 to 2019.
Whether or not the Colts should sign Julio could come down to multiple factors. One is what other receivers are available. There are still some younger receivers on the market that should be a higher priority on Indy’s list.
The other factor is Julio’s contract demands. Considering Jones’ struggles to stay on the field the last couple of seasons, the Colts should only bring him in on a contract that makes sense for the team.
