Following months of increasing trade speculation and a very controversial public dismissal of his future with the Atlanta Falcons, the team struck a deal to trade Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. The All-Pro was all smiles when he landed in Nashville earlier this week, and with his jersey now in the Titans locker room -- Jones moving from his familiar No. 11 to No. 2 -- his road with the Falcons has officially come to its end. It's been a long one that began with the Falcons mortgaging their future to move up and select him with the sixth-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Needless to say, it paid off magnificently for them as Jones delivered a Hall of Fame caliber career for them to this point, but the rest of his NFL stats will be produced elsewhere. So as the Titans ready themselves to enjoy his dominance, Jones broke his silence after the trade -- issuing both a farewell to Atlanta and an elated hello to Nashville.
"Thank you ATL for all the love you've shown me over the years," he wrote on Instagram. "It's been an amazing 10 years playing for the city and all the fans. I appreciate everything you've done for me over the years, and will never forget my time as an Atlanta Falcon. Excited for the next part of my journey here in Nashville.
"To the fans, I want to thank you all for the warm welcome for me and my family. We are very excited to be part of the Titans family.
"Ready to get to work!"
In his time with the Falcons, Jones earned honors as an All-Pro on five different occasions, seven Pro-Bowl nods, led the NFL in receiving yards twice and was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. Jones reeled in 12,996 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns that included seven of his 10 seasons breaking the 1,000-yard receiving mark, with three of those seven surpassing 1,500 yards -- at one point nearing 1,900 yards (2015). The 32-year-old has battled some injury as of late that cost him games in 2020, but still delivered 771 receiving yards in only nine games last year.
He'll now join Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown and Derrick Henry in instantly making the Titans one of the best offenses in the entire league, while the Falcons turn the page and hope to get the same type of career out of rookie fourth-overall pick Kyle Pitts.
