Falcons GM: Julio 'should be' league's highest-paid WR
It appears Michael Thomas won't hold the title of the NFL's highest-paid receiver for long.
Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff told NFL Network on Thursday he's prepared to break the bank for Julio Jones, adding the team's "not worried" about the extended negotiations for the All-Pro's new deal.
"We know what Julio is in this league. We have a very good idea of approximately where he's going to be, which I won't share, specifically," Dimitroff said before the 2019 Hall of Fame Game between the Falcons and Denver Broncos.
"The good thing is we've never been held by our owner to be limiting someone and we're very good with our football players here. We feel very proud of how we approach it.
"And again, where we approach it with Julio, we look at everything, of course. We believe that he should be ... the highest-paid receiver in the league. And I know he believes that. It's just how we're going to approach this and how we're going to get it done. I believe it's right around the corner but I don't know when it is."
The New Orleans Saints gave Thomas a reported five-year, $100-million extension with $61 million in guarantees Wednesday, ending Odell Beckham Jr.'s reign atop the market. It was the first of several receiver-contract dominoes expected to fall before the start of the season; Jones, Amari Cooper, A.J. Green, and Tyreek Hill are all widely anticipated to get new deals in the near future.
Jones is by far the most accomplished of that group. The 30-year-old has twice led the league in receiving yards (2015 and 2018), and it seems the Falcons are more than comfortable paying him accordingly.
- With h/t to NFL.com