Skip to content

LEAGUES News

Falcons GM: Julio 'should be' league's highest-paid WR

Icon Sportswire / Getty

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

RELATED NEWS

AARON GORDON THROWDOWN THROUGH CONTACT 😱
Nuggets' Gordon somehow gets tough and-1 to go over Thunder's Holmgren 💪
MATTHEW KNIES, THAT WAS SICK 🥵 #StanleyCup 🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ ...
Knies goes top cheese for key insurance goal 🧀
CHET ON THE CHASEDOWN ❌
Chet chase-down block on MPJ 🚫
MORGAN RIELLY ANSWERS RIGHT BACK 😤 #StanleyCup 🇺🇸: @espn...
Rielly passes Turnbull for most career playoff goals by a Maple Leafs D-man 📜
Trent Grisham's strong start continues 💪
Yankees' Grisham burns old team to match last season's HR total in just 29 games 🔥
WILLIAM NYLANDER OPENS THE SCORING 33 SECONDS INTO THE SERIE...
Nylander beats Bobrovsky from sharp angle 33 seconds in 📐