Arthur Smith explains why Falcons traded Julio Jones to Titans

Based on their salary cap situation, it was easy to figure out why the Atlanta Falcons traded Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans, but now head coach Arthur Smith has confirmed the reason.

Smith was a guest on “The Chris Collinsworth Podcast featuring Richard Sherman” and went into detail about why the Falcons traded Jones, which to no one’s surprise was indeed for salary cap reasons.

Smith also believes that the deal was a win-win, as the Falcons got the salary cap relief they needed, and Jones got his wish and was able to join a contender in the Titans.

“Once (Falcons GM) Terry (Fontenot) and I got started down there, the situation, I mean the reality we knew the issue with the cap, and then obviously, the cap went down this year.  Coming off the bizarre year, you’re dealing with a pandemic, the cap actually shrunk. So, we knew there was going to be some big decisions we’d have to make coming up, and so in a way everything worked out, we feel pretty good. I mean, I think it’s pretty much well-documented now, we feel like it was a win-win with the salary cap and Julio going to Tennessee, and us right now being able to solve our short-term issue with the cap. And we still got some other moves down the line you’re going to have to address. But I feel really good about where we’re at right now and going into the summer.”

Why the Falcons traded Julio

Full interview: https://t.co/H9nVQJ2Y8f pic.twitter.com/cisLGZ4kvh

— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) June 22, 2021

The Jones trade not only allows the Falcons to sign their 2021 draft picks, but it’s also a step towards the franchise getting its financial house in the order.

And that’s just fine for the Titans, who reaped the benefits of Atlanta’s messy financial situation. Tennessee not only acquired Jones for a reasonable price in terms of draft capital, but now their offense has all-time great potential with Jones, A.J. Brown and Derrick Henry all in the mix.