Should Packers consider making trade offer for Julio Jones?
The Green Bay Packers are coming off of a 13-3 season where they were just one game short of the Super Bowl while having the best offense in the NFL led by the MVP of the league, Aaron Rodgers.
The Packers have brought almost everyone back. Center Corey Linsley really is the lone starter who has departed. The offensive line is a strength of the team, so while they will surely miss Linsley, they can make things work with what they have, including their second-round pick Josh Myers.
The clock is ticking on the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay, it has been since they drafted Jordan Love in the 2020 draft. But, if the Packers can navigate the whole Rodgers ordeal and convince him to come back and play at least one more year, they could consider going all in to appease the future Hall-of-Famer.
One way to show Rodgers how serious they are is to acquire Atlanta Falcons star receiver, Julio Jones.
A move like this would take a lot of cap magic, but the Packers have one of the best cap gurus in all of football in Russ Ball.
The big question is, what would the Packers have to give up for Julio, and is Brian Gutekunst willing to mortgage the future for an all-in season in 2021? By drafting and keeping Love, they’ve shown they are protecting the future of the Packers after Rodgers is gone. Trading away multiple draft picks would be going against their plan. But then again, they might not need to trade away that much draft capital.
Atlanta has asked teams that have inquired about Julio Jones for a first-round draft pick in return, per sources. Others around the league don’t believe the Falcons ultimately will get a first for the perennial Pro-Bowl wide receiver.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 24, 2021
But just to play devil’s advocate, if the Packers could pull off a trade for Julio Jones, this Green Bay offense would be unstoppable. Not even the Kansas City Chiefs’ high-powered offense would be at the same caliber as the Packers.
It is now on record that Julio Jones is pretty much done in Atlanta. He was on the phone with Shannon Sharpe on “Undisputed” on FS1, saying he was “out of there”.
With this coming out, the Falcons seemingly lose some leverage, and teams won’t offer as much. Is it possible for the Packers to make a move like this work? Julio has three years left on his deal and a $23 million cap hit in 2021, according to Spotrac.
If they really wanted Julio, I think the Packers could work with Rodgers on a deal that would guarantee he is the quarterback for the next few years. They could structure his contract that would lessen the cap hit in 2021 and then extend Davante Adams as well.
There’s always a way around the cap. Brian Gutekunst and the Packers need to determine which path they want to take. Should they continue building the team for Rodgers and essentially go all-in this year, or do they keep going with their plan and build for the future?
Ultimately, I think it’s pretty unlikely that the Packers even get involved, but if it could help them make Rodgers happy and win a Super Bowl, I think they would have to think about going after one of the best receivers in the NFL.