The idea Julio Jones would be traded became public in the days leading up to the draft. The fact that he had asked for a trade only made it into the news cycle two weeks ago. But what you saw go down on Sunday? The wheels have been rolling a lot longer than that.
In fact, what’s been a two-week story for fans on the outside has been a two-year story inside the Falcons’ building. This goes all the way back to the 2019 negotiation of the three-year, $66 million extension Jones landed with two years left on a deal he signed in 2015.