Julio Jones is saying all the right things now.
Of course, he hasn’t been hit with a franchise tag yet, either.
The Falcons wide receiver is waiting for his new mega-contract, but says he’s not going to stay away from his team during the offseason — like Broncos wideout Demaryius Thomas or Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant are doing at the moment.
“I haven’t been watching other people,” Jones said, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “All I can do is take care of me. I’m going to let [the Falcons] take care of that side of it. If they say be here at this time, I’m going to be there. I’m going to be accountable.
“I’m not going to hold out for anything. My teammates need me. I’m being selfish if I’m not here and doing what I need to do.”
This is where Thomas and Bryant are probably telling Jones to mind his own business, since his business is different from theirs. Like A.J. Green, Jones has a year of contract left, and isn’t being pressured by the lack of security a tag holds.
All the noise coming from the Falcons indicates they want to take care of Jones, though there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of progress between agent Jimmy Sexton and the team.
“Whatever they feel like I’m deserving of, . . . I’m just here,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to be the best teammate. I’m just trying to play. My thing is to play ball.
“Jimmy Sexton, he’s going to negotiate that with [General Manager] Thomas [Dimitroff] and [Falcons owner] Mr. [Arthur] Blank. That’s the side they handle. My side, I’ve got to handle on the football field. I’ve got to keep showing up every day and putting in work.”
And while his comments may play well for the public, he’s not exactly accentuating his market position by saying he’ll let the Falcons decide what he’s deserving of.
Thomas and Bryant probably have their own ideas.
