October 17, 2023

Eagles sign WR Julio Jones

Eagles sign former All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones, who played 10 games during the 2022 season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spent the 2021 season with the Tennessee Titans.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Brown and Julio Jones with the Titans in 2021.

The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Tuesday that they have signed wide receiver Julio Jones.

Jones, 34, was at one time one of the best players in the NFL, as he had a six-year span with the Atlanta Falcons from 2014 to 2019 during which he caught 623 passes for 9388 yards and 37 TDs, or an average of 104 catches for 1565 yards and 6 TDs per season. In total, Jones played 10 years in Atlanta, one in Tennessee, where he was teammates with A.J. Brown, and one in Tampa Bay. He will almost certainly be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.

In 2022 with the Buccaneers, Jones didn't have much production during the regular season, catching 24 passes for 299 yards and 2 TDs in Tom Brady's final NFL season. However, he was a rare player who came to play in the Bucs' playoff loss to the Cowboys last season, catching 7 passes for 74 yards and the following TD:

6️⃣ for 6️⃣

📺: #DALvsTB on ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/5UWgzlGuS6
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 17, 2023

The signing of Jones is reminiscent of the Eagles' signings of Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph last season, a couple of players looking for one last legitimate shot at winning a Super Bowl who joined mid-season. From Jones' perspective, the Eagles make a lot of sense, since they are contenders, and they have earned the reputation as a team that is smart about veterans and practice time throughout the week.

From the Eagles' perspective, assuming this is a low-money deal, why not? The Eagles don't have any real depth at outside receiver, and Jones should still be an upgrade over Quez Watkins, who is on IR with a hamstring injury.

Update: Jones is signing to the Eagles' practice squad initially, which has pretty much been standard practice for veterans joining the team while they ramp up.