GMFB crew discusses Julio Jones holdout

While we’re all trying to pontificate about the Falcons and Julio Jones and the whole contract thing, the crew at Good Morning Football has given their take, and it’s a good take.

Again, you know where I am on all of this, but the folks at hand really do lay out the Falcons side of things quite eloquently, particularly the unprecedented nature of the situation. This isn’t easy for Atlanta as they try to get deals done for Grady Jarrett, Jake Matthews and Ricardo Allen. That’s more than fair. But, Jones feels that this is what’s best for him, so when a player like that makes this kind of decision, the team has to adjust, right or wrong.

The GMFB crew comes down on the “hey, man, it’s tough, but you signed the deal, other players are much worse off than you are, even though, again, it’s tough seeing guys not as good as you make more money on new contracts” side of things, and I empathize with that argument. Jones is stepping into uncharted waters here, but it’s not wrong for him to.

Both sides are doing what’s best for themselves in the long-term here, and it’ll just come down to who feels the most comfortable giving up a little of what they originally hoped at the right moment.

Want to know where I think this ends up? I think both sides will have to bend a little for this to finally break. Jones won’t get every dollar he’s hoping he would, and the Falcons won’t get to avoid pushing this to 2019. At some point, Arthur Blank is going to sit everyone down and remind them of what’s at stake, and something will get done on that day.

I think Jones misses the second preseason game, and gets this resolved right before the dress rehearsal and plays a little that night. It’ll be a minor readjustment to the existing deal that will probably come back into focus in 2019 or 2020. This won’t be the end of it, but I imagine everyone involved will agree to a truce, and that Jones will get a new compensation terms, even if minor ones, for his holdout.

But, you never know. Maybe one side blinks early, maybe, good night, this goes into the season, Jones and/or the team determined not to let the other get the upper hand. That still feels quite unlikely, but then again, it’s not impossible.

So, await, we do, hoping that this all gets solved without any major repercussions on a promising season.