Julio Jones contract talks have "stalled significantly"

We have been waiting weeks for what has felt like the inevitable and imminent Julio Jones contract extension. The wide receiver is expected to cost around the same as recently signed Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, so how hard could the negotiations be?

Pretty difficult, apparently, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank remained optimistic today re: Julio Jones' contract but sources say talks stalled significantly last week

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) August 24, 2015

There could be a number of very valid reasons the talks have stalled. The team may be concerned that Jones can stay healthy through a long-term contract. The team may believe they have additional leverage considering Jones still has a year left on his contract, while Bryant and Thomas were both franchised and more expensive.

Perhaps Jones is pushing for more money than the other wide receivers.

Either way, without any real deadline to get a deal done, these contract negotiations could easily extend into the regular season, if not next offseason.