Chase Claypool Joining Julio Jones Talks With Invite to Pittsburgh
The sweepstakes for Atlanta Falcons' receiver Julio Jones has seen a battle royale-like fervor from teams and players looking to acquire the receiver for the right price.
Joining the conversation are the Pittsburgh Steelers … more specifically, wide receiver Chase Claypool.
"We're stacked," Claypool said in an interview with TMZ Sports. "But, you can never get too many superstars."
After extending TJ Watt and re-signing Juju Smith-Schuster to a one-year, $8 million contract, the Steelers' cap space is in reasonable standing to bring in Julio Jones for a team on the brink of moving on from long-time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — along with filling a void at the No. 1 since Antonio Brown's departure.
Claypool finished second on the team with 873 receiving yards, trailing Diontae Johnson's 923 yards. Hoping to see a rebounding Smith-Schuster and still having depth with James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud, the wide receiver room would be among the best in the league with the addition of Jones.
Since sharing his pending exit out of Atlanta with Shannon Sharpe live on air, the rush to deal the receiver for Atlanta's front office continues to heat up as OTAs begin to roll out. Julio Jones' qualms regarding restructured contracts and skepticism with the new regime in Atlanta have added turbulence to the beginning of Arthur Smith's tenure with the Falcons.
Teams such as the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and New England Patriots have stood out as favorites to land a trade for the receiver.
Outside candidates to trade for Julio Jones include the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers.