Tennessee Titans receiver Julio Jones already made his first contribution to the team, and he hasn’t even stepped on the field yet.
Jones agreed to restructure his contract on Tuesday, converting $14 million of his $15.3 million salary to a signing bonus and saving Tennessee $11.2 million in cap space, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Titans also added two void years in 2024 and 2025 to Jones’ contract.
Per Spotrac, Tennessee went from 30th in the NFL in available cap space ($3.6 million) to 12th ($14.8 million). The Titans will have an additional $2.8 million cap hit over the next four years as a result of Jones’ restructure.
The seven-time Pro Bowler will make $4.1 million in 2021 and $14.3 million in 2022 and 2023 thanks to his $11.5 million base salary plus the prorated bonus money from his restructure.
Tuesday’s move seems to signal the Titans plan to keep Jones on the roster for the duration of his contract. If the team parted ways with him in 2022, they would have only about $2 million in dead cap money as a carryover. Now, they’re on the hook for slightly more.
In June, the Titans traded a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth- and sixth-round picks to the Atlanta Falcons for Jones. The 32-year-old recorded 51 receptions for 771 yards and three touchdowns in nine games last year.
Over his 10-year NFL career, Jones has totaled 848 receptions for 12,896 yards and 60 touchdowns. He has enjoyed seven 1,000-yard seasons — leading the league in receiving yards twice — and three seasons of 100 or more receptions.
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