Atlanta Falcons: No new deal for Julio Jones, the good and bad

Without acting decisively, the Atlanta Falcons have let Julio Jones, the locker room and the fan base to choose sides in a no-win offseason battle.

There are a few ways to slice the decision the Atlanta Falcons made Thursday of publicly stating they would not negotiate with star wide reciever Julio Jones on a new deal at this point. This has been a topic swirling around the team for the last six months, one that almost everyone in the organization has tip-toed around.

There have been prominent voices on either side of the issue and fans of the team are seemingly spilt on the decision as well. Regardless of the camp you are in, the timing of the decision and the public nature it which it was communicated are curious to say the least.

Back in January when Jones began talk of wanting to simply “update” his deal — as if it were as innocent as accepting the new terms of the latest IOS release on your iPhone — the Falcons could have addressed this — in fact, they should have addressed it, before the story took on a life of its own, before it gained so much steam that Jones had the opportunity to believe he somehow had leverage in the situation.

If handled quickly and privately, potentially Jones actually ends up attending OTAs and minicamp. While I think Jones is far from the typically “diva” personality type, I do believe he is a prideful guy. He’s player that truly feels he is being undervalued. And now he could feel like a player that has been publicly put in a corner. A dangerous game of chicken will now ensue, and it’s anyone’s guess if he will show up at training camp.

The Good

The Falcons have made a clear decision, not only a short-term, financially sound one, but a decision that, in the longer term, will send a strong message to future generations of players. They are not going to be held hostage to moves made after you have inked your deal, particularly when you have more than a year left in that deal.

This also in subtle terms accentuates the Falcons priority of handling deals for players like Keanu Neal and Vic Beasley, both of whom have deals set to expire before Jones’.

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The Bad

By letting this linger for so long, the Falcons have not only allowed Jones to think there was a chance that he would possibly get a new deal, but have undoubtably created small factions within the team and fanbase. They have also alienated the most identifiable player on the team.

Matt Ryan may be the leader in the locker room and the highest paid player in the NFLm but when you are in Atlanta, there is no more popular player than Jones. The front office for the Falcons has done so many things right of late, but they bobbled this one. Let’s hope that Jones is able to handle it in stride and comes to camp ready to ball.