Welcome, Julio Jones! (Exclusive Video, Too!)
July 27th, 2022
What a sight to behold at One Buc Palace as training camp opened this morning in front of a packed house.
The newest Buccaneer, living legend Julio Jones, was near the sidelines late in practice after signing his contract. He mingled with players and his former special teams coach with the Falcons, Bucs special teams chief Keith Armstrong.
But to Joe’s surprise, Julio, despite not being in uniform, went to work on the Jugs machine. Video below.
Jugs catching isn’t the most exciting stuff, but Joe was intrigued watching Julio catch from the machine at extremely close range. Most guys don’t do that. He was 1 1/2 yards away with balls getting shot at him. No drops to behold. And he moved back to catch at other ranges, as well.
He drew a bit of a audience, too.
Joe talked to Sean Murphy-Bunting and Russell Gage about Julio’s arrival on campus. More on that later, but Murphy-Bunting summed it up well when he said, “It’s so dope.”
Enjoy the Julio videos below.
July 27th, 2022 at 11:35 am
$6 million base salary, guaranteed, plus $2 million in incentives.
Pass me the vomit bag.
July 27th, 2022 at 11:41 am
LFG
July 27th, 2022 at 11:41 am
Hey Passing Thru-who cares how much we are paying him! when he makes those clutch 3rd and 5 1st downs in the middle of November will we really care how much he makes… Enjoy the season dude, Go Bucs!!
July 27th, 2022 at 11:45 am
If what you said is true PassingThru, that doesn’t leave much of the Brady contract redo money left
July 27th, 2022 at 11:46 am
Lol @PassingThru. You feel like throwing up in your mouth huh😂……
July 27th, 2022 at 11:48 am
Not your money passingthru, so don’t worry about it. People like you are illogical at an impressive level. He played really well in the playoff game last yr, and production you wont get in a million yrs with Tyler Johnson, Jaelon Darden etc. The matchup problems he will create, despite losing a step, is an order of magnitude greater than guys like Scotty Miller. The bucs arent running a charity – if Scotty, Tyler and the rest of ’em showed in practice and in games that they can be RELIABLY counted on than not only Julio would not have been signed, Russell Gage wouldn’t have been signed either. After the Bucs game with the Rams, it was clear as day that the Bucs HAD IT with their receivers not named Godwin and Evans. We THOUGHT we were deep, until, you know, we had to use our depth.
July 27th, 2022 at 11:50 am
What’s his number?
July 27th, 2022 at 11:52 am
Passing thru
Dude you are not even a real bucs fan. You are a brady / pats fan
And you are nauseous the bucs are paying him 6 mil?
Wow. Dont worry you only have another year or so of this and then what?
Back to pats site? Where bellichek wont fill the cupboard with groceries
🤮
July 27th, 2022 at 11:52 am
There’s this thing called a salary cap. You boys should read up on it.
July 27th, 2022 at 11:55 am
Julio has lost a step. He wont take a top of defense. Who cares. We got those guys. But there is No reason he cant be a solid possession receiver for us with his size. Great hands. Like a keyshawn johnson 👍
So dont make him practice much cause those hammys are needed for game days
July 27th, 2022 at 11:56 am
I could see Jones on the field in those situations where Gronk would have been lined up out wide. He’s darn big and can presumably still get open against LBs and punish safeties. This could work out pretty well. Even some slot type action could be in the mix. I don’t think he’s going to get open deep much but going deep could draw a great deal of attention and open it up for others.
July 27th, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Oh wow passingthru, the salary cap, whoa – thats some big brained thinking. Eyeroll. Bird in the hand, is better than 2 in the bush – tomorrow isnt promisedor whatever other analogy that comes to mind. There is this thing called winning the SuperBowl – perhaps you should read up on THAT. Btw, I am fairly certain that Jason Licht and his finance team now how to do their job. They’ve been brokering large deals for as long as some of these fans have been alive. Do you know much the Golden State Warriors are paying in Luxury tax for example for being over the cap. Ask them if they care. They dont. What they care about is winning. Ask the Rams if they care about overrated valued draft picks. They dont. You strike when the iron as hot, that has been the new model adopted by winning teams over these past few yrs
July 27th, 2022 at 12:01 pm
I think Passing is lamenting the higher cap#, because that means less room for other pieces.
I do agree the ‘cap’ is less about a cap & more about how willing you are to kick that can down the road.
Bucs will kick the can to add some more D I hope.
Suh.
July 27th, 2022 at 12:08 pm
Would anyone trade the Lighning’s dominance over the past 5 yrs in exchange for more frugal spending, and being more under the cap. Whatre we even talking about here
July 27th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
I get the signing, but the problem is that Julio has serious problems getting onto the field. He reportedly lost separation too, but it is possible that not all of that was directly age-related. Damaged hammies impair straight-ahead speed.
I think we can infer that the Bucs were talking to both OBJ and Julio. There were pros and cons to both. Julio should be healthy for those rough first four regular season games, while OBJ will likely be out until November, or perhaps early December. Those are both guesses based on rumor as OBJ might return sooner and Julio might be impaired by Week 1.
I think the real roadblock, and this is conjecture, OBJ wanting a two or three year deal. He talked about it prior to injury, hell, that’s why he demanded a trade or release from the Browns. It was a contract year and Mayfield wasn’t throwing to him.
At this stage of their careers, OBJ is the more talented. He would have had just enough time to get on the same page as Brady, which would have been a deadly pairing, right in time for the postseason. Julio on the other hand might not be healthy enough to be a contributor late in the season, he’s probably a safer bet earlier in the season. The saving grace on Julio is that once Godwin is able to absorb lots of snaps, Julio can be set on a pace to preserve his body for later.
All in all, Julio just seems like a WR you’d want to give a smaller guaranteed sum (Florio said $3 million earlier, that number seems right) plus a hefty bonus based on games played. Julio only played 10 games last season, and 9 games the season before that. Why is that important? Team cap space. The incentive can be based on exceeding 11 games played during the regular season, which means his base salary would only be counted against the cap this season.
Preserving the space could be used later to absorb a released player, or a player coming back from retirement later in the season.
Get it?
July 27th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
Guys just the knowledge he brings the wide receiver room is amazing steak…the 3rd capability.. throwing to him..he’s the 4th wr right now…I don’t miss antonio at all right now…he have his face in Bronze in Ohio canton.. this move feels very much like moss to the pats…also don’t count odell put mid season or gronk when they see how we are Rolling..brady gets what wants..does anyone have issue with that?
July 27th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
The problem isn’t whether he can still play; when healthy, he’s still 90% of a Hall of Famer.
It’s just that you can’t count on him to be healthy. And where do we put him? If Evans, Godwin and Gage are 1-2-3, is Jones #4? Doesn’t a #4 have to play special teams?
July 27th, 2022 at 12:18 pm
End zone touchdowns just got easier.
July 27th, 2022 at 12:24 pm
The salary CAP is very real, but not necessarily in any given year. Or even in any 2-3 period. But EVENTUALLY, kicking the can down the street catches up with you. I’m convinced we all know that, but we have Tom Brady TODAY, probably not tomorrow. Yes, strike while the iron’s hot, recognizing that you’ll almost surely pay for it tomorrow.
That said however, today’s champions must have some BALANCE between offense & defense. There’ve been plenty of instances where teams with excellent offenses folded in the playoffs because their defense couldn’t hold. And vice versa. Also plenty of instances where excellent offenses couldn’t score enough against excellent opposing defenses. There has to be some semblance of BALANCE.
And a big part of that BALANCE is DEPTH far as I can see. Any number of teams have excellent starting rotations, but once the injuries start they end up subbing in ‘a lesser talent’ (trying to be kind there). And in today’s NFL, especially in the playoffs, that’s deadly. Bucs NEED better DEPTH on defense to make it through a 20-21 game season. And especially as it applies to our Front-7. Personally I’d re-sign Suh, but I’m not worried about that one. He’ll be onboard come September, or close to it.
July 27th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
My longer post is still in mod purgatory, but yes, you want some cap left for flexibility. While I don’t think Gronk is coming back, you keep some cap space open for vets who will be waived. Structuring a contract with incentives rather than guaranteed money can give you that flexibility. Injuries happen, and having some cap space in reserve can help you snatch an older vet. The regular season can be a demolition derby, the Buc CBs got clobbered last year. The Bucs also have positions that might show some cracks this season.
July 27th, 2022 at 12:34 pm
The most exciting thing about this signing is that he’s not on another team’s sideline. He consistently destroyed us. He not only was making great catches but drawing off defenders. He made Ryan the QB HOF. It’s great that both of them are gone from the Dirty Birds
July 27th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
And last, I agree with DR. The chips have already been laid on the board for the offense, while the defense might show some cracks. Depth should now be order of the day. The Bucs bolstered their DBs a bit, but there I think an additional EDGE player for depth should be a priority. The Bucs are banking heavily on JTS making that second-year jump, and Hall is an unproven rookie. Hall seems to be a player who can be flexed into an OLB, DE, and maybe even move inside on hybrid fronts. That’s nice on paper, but he’s still an untested rookie.
July 27th, 2022 at 1:07 pm
I hope Julio can find the magic this year. If he’s healthy and is used in 3’rd down situations, he could seriously ball out and have 10 TDs to go with ME13’s 13 TDs
July 27th, 2022 at 1:17 pm
For 6 million, I hope he can give us at least 50 catches and 5 tuddies.
July 27th, 2022 at 1:33 pm
@Bird
I don’t have a team; I grew up a Rams fan but vacated once that former call girl relocated the team to St. Louis. I’ve followed the Bucs since I was a kid. It started when my favorite college coach and his WR son (who played at Bishop Amat with Pat Haden) went to this expansion franchise.
So eat guano.
July 27th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
Julio had 10 td’s once in his career. Average of 6 tds per year. Only team he had touchdown success against throughout his career is the only team ha can’t play against. 11 of his 61 career tds against the Bucs. ATL knew he was done, Tennessee knows he is done, we unfortunately are about to find out, he is done.
July 27th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
$6-million, huh?
Must be using those void years again, because they don’t have $6-million.
Anywho, I love it. If you don’t love it, if you watched Brady having to use Brate as his #2 option vs the Rams and you didn’t think that was an issue, well, you’re an idiot.
July 27th, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Gronk isn’t coming back…
Julio Jones probably isn’t worth the $6m but we do have the cap space plus we will probably cut K – R. Succup and save another $2.5M…
Plus – Julio Jones is better depth than Johnson, Grayson, Miller, Darden or Perriman – so our team just got a little bit better.
July 27th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Don’t love it because I’ve watched Julio fall of the cliff the last few years. Also watched him say it isn’t a money grab which makes it seem like a money grab
July 27th, 2022 at 4:30 pm
@Rod
Overthecap has the Bucs at $10.5 million in available cap space, Sportrac has the Bucs at around $11.6 million. There’s definitely space to sign Julio Jones outright, but Akiem Hicks contract contains a series of void years. I suspect and hope that they’ll do something similar with Julio’s contract.
At this point, I’d love room for a quality EDGE, a vet who can play with a hand in the dirt in or standing up. The ideal would be Trey Flowers, but at this point the front office will likely hesitate adding that kind of salary, even with void years.
July 27th, 2022 at 5:13 pm
He’s not anything close to what he used to be, but it will look like he is when he’s going up against the 4th corner for a lot of teams. Simple as that.
July 27th, 2022 at 5:20 pm
Love this move he doesn’t need to be a number one or even two won’t get double teamed most likely will be covered by an lb or safety bucs are going to destroy the league. For you guys worried about his injury Brady already has his body shamans working that out so hyped for this season go bucs.
July 27th, 2022 at 5:50 pm
$6 million?
What a joke.
Licht strikes again.
SMDH. Pathetic
July 27th, 2022 at 6:23 pm
Hey Joe’s just curious. How is Julio at blocking? Not hearing much about that.
July 27th, 2022 at 6:41 pm
Julio jones never had Tom Brady throwing to him. He will be lights out here imo.
July 27th, 2022 at 10:54 pm
So many people that will be eating crow this year..I screen shot the haters of this move…we now have 3 elite relievers n 1 great 1…a respectable te
July 27th, 2022 at 11:22 pm
Jones has to make the final cuts to get the guarantee.
I get what PassingThru meant though. Paying that kind of money to Jones could hurt in the short term, so far as adding more important pieces.I
Guess we just need to trust Jason Licht.
July 27th, 2022 at 11:27 pm
As to his ability these days, I will put nothing past Jones. He may earn every penny of that money. Or he may not. Just another story to be entertained with this season.
It’s all on him now.
But…guaranteeing that much tells me there was at least one other team interested.
Going to be weird seeing him playing for the Bucs though.
July 28th, 2022 at 6:57 am
Making a point in comment section:
“You have no brains” “your not a fan” “You mindless automaton”
Making a point in person face to face:
“While I think your unique opinion is intelligent, I have to disagree with it respectfully”
July 28th, 2022 at 7:17 am
Jealousy always sounds the same
July 28th, 2022 at 8:11 am
Antonio Brown still had some juice in him, I expect the same from Jones. Great pickup if he stays healthy. Last year they were down four yes 4 receivers against The Rams. Brown Godwin Perriman and Grayson. Gotta have depth. GOBUCS!