Titans Plan To Release WR Julio Jones
The Tennessee Titans are planning to release wide receiver Julio Jones, ESPN reports.
While Jones was signed through the 2024 season, numerous outlets report the veteran receiver will be released with a post-June 1 designation, giving the Titans more than $9.5 million in salary-cap savings.
The Titans acquired Jones in 2021 along with a 2023 sixth-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick.
The move was supposed to provide much-needed balance to Tennessee's passing attack, but the veteran receiver appeared in just 10 games because of injuries and finished the season with career lows — 31 catches on 48 targets for 434 yards and one TD.
The 33-year-old receiver generated just one regular-season game with more than 60 yards receiving, and in the Titans' postseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Jones netted six catches for 62 yards.
The move leaves a hole in the Titans receiver room with A.J. Brown and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the shallow depth chart. Brown took to social media to express his gratitude to Jones on Wednesday.
"You have taught me a lot in a short period of time," Brown said in the post. "I’m grateful to be apart of you journey. You’re the reason why I started to begin to play this game. A HOF receiver is what you are and what I strive to be one day. Thank you, I’ll take it from here! Salute!"
Looking ahead, Tennessee was awarded compensatory draft selections in the 2022 NFL Draft on Tuesday by the league and could use their higher draft picks to fill the void.
With the compensatory selections, the Titans are now scheduled to make seven picks in the 2022 NFL Draft — the team was awarded an additional fourth-round pick (143rd overall) and an additional sixth-round pick (219th overall).
Here's a look at the team's seven picks:
The team doesn't have a second-round pick as a result of last year's trade for Jones and the team doesn't have a seventh-round pick in 2022 because it was included in the trade that sent tackle Isaiah Wilson to the Dolphins.
Tennessee got Miami's seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft.