WR Julio Jones Wants Out Of Atlanta, Are The 49ers A Perfect Fit For His Future?

The San Francisco 49ers struggled to get on track in the NFC after a Super Bowl appearance not that long ago, and now they are looking to put 2020 behind them.

One way to do that is to get your fans pumped about players coming in, either through the NFL Draft (QB Trey Lance) or through trades or free agency.

One player that would get the fan base excited right away is Atlanta Falcons long-time receiver Julio Jones, who has been rumored to be on the trade block for months. Atlanta certainly needs money to sign their rookies.

Jones, who has played 10 seasons with the Falcons, was the 6th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and enters this season hitting 32 years old. However, he can still play at a very high level - something that has the Niners excited.

When the media asked 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan about Jones, Shanahan pointed out the team’s acquisition of the No. 3 pick (which they used to get QB Trey Lance) may have been the one thing they needed to do in order to eventually get Jones on their roster.

“Anyone I’ve coached in the past that I have a relationship with, especially a great dude like Julio, obviously I have a ton of respect for," Shanahan said.

"We’re always interested in improving our team. We’ll never just say, ‘Hey, we’re done. We can’t improve our team.’ You always try to make that happen. But, yeah, it makes it harder when you’ve already given up some stuff to make some moves and things like that.”

Jones' salary is a whopper for 2021, as he is currently set to make $15.3 million guaranteed for the upcoming season. Since Atlanta needs cash to ink draft picks, moving Jones might be the team's best option as 2021 gets closer.

The future Hall of Fame wide out has asked Atlanta for a trade. It's possible that the thought of having to live through yet ANOTHER first-year coach (Arthur Smith takes the role in 2021) was too much to bear.

Let's see if a team like the Niners are the ones to make a deal happen, or if Jones is stuck in the ATL.