It had to be exciting for Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones to watch as a pair of franchise-tagged wideouts, Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, signed highly lucrative last-minute, long-term contracts with their respective teams as Wednesday's 4 p.m. deadline rapidly approached.
With Bryant and Thomas inking nearly identical five-year, $70 million deals, Jones may be the next wide receiver putting his John - or is it Herbie? - Hancock on the dotted line in the not-too-distant future, perhaps by as early as the start of Falcons training camp.
"As we reported earlier this week, the Falcons and Jones' camp have yet to start negotiations on an extension as Jones enters the final year of his contract," ESPN's Vaughn McClure reports. "There is a general sense around the team that a deal could get done by the start of training camp (July 31) despite the lack of progress at this point."
Jones, 26, has not yet reached the expiration of his rookie deal. The situation could come to a head, however, should he and the team fail to come to terms on a new contract extension prior to next offseason, at which point the Falcons would likely hit him with the franchise tag and then proceed from there.
In four NFL seasons, Jones has amassed 278 receptions, 4,330 yards receiving and 26 touchdowns. Jones is scheduled to make $10.176 million in 2015 and is likely better off waiting to sign a long-term deal, especially considering he's probably not yet worth the same kind of value that Bryant and Thomas garnered.
Still, if the Falcons believe Jones is an elite No. 1 wide receiver, that may wind up being all that matters.
"Players are all worth as much as they'll give them, but I think Julio deserves to be in the Dez range," former NFL safety Ryan Clark said, per McClure. "Definitely more than [Mike] Wallace. If more than Dez, not much more."
The Wallace he is referring to is Mike Wallace who, after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, is set to make $12 million in the third year of a free agent contract he originally signed with the Miami Dolphins. Wallace, 28, has failed to reach the 1,000-yard receiving plateau three years in a row now.
Jones, despite struggling to stay healthy - he's missed 15 of a possible 64 regular season games in his NFL career - has posted over 1,100-yards in two seasons and fell just short of the mark his rookie year.
