National Football League

Tom Brady recruiting Julio Jones to join Bucs

Published Mar. 17, 2022 2:01 p.m. ET

Recruitment season never ends.

Tom Brady knows this all too well, and now that he's returned from a 40-day retirement, the Buccaneers quarterback legend is working hard on strengthening his squad.

The player he's honing in on? Wide receiver Julio Jones.

Tom Brady is recruiting Julio Jones to Tampa

An inside source told Skip Bayless that Tom Brady reportedly DM'd Julio Jones.

On Thursday's "Undisputed," Skip Bayless reported Brady pitched Jones about joining Tampa Bay in an Instagram message.

"A source who knows Julio texted me that Julio got a DM yesterday from this guy who plays quarterback down in Tampa — this guy named Tom Brady," Bayless said. "He was sliding into Julio's DMs and the message effectively said, 'hey, come on down to the sunshine in Tampa and let's be great together.'"

Jones was released by the Titans this week after an underwhelming season in Tennessee hampered by a hamstring injury.

The Titans traded for Jones last June in a move that gave the Atlanta Falcons salary cap space. Tennessee needed another top wide receiver to pair with A.J. Brown, but Jones started only 11 games, counting the postseason. He finished with a career-low 31 catches for 434 yards and one touchdown.

Jones, 33, came to Tennessee having averaged 95.5 yards receiving per game through 135 games, tops in NFL history. Only Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss (15.6) averaged more yards per catch than Jones (15.2) among NFL players with at least 848 receptions. Jones set Atlanta records with 848 catches for 12,896 yards, and his 60 touchdowns ranked second.

Bayless believes Brady could tap back into the talent that made Jones a legend for Atlanta.

"Obviously, Julio has been beat up. He managed to play only [11] games last year, and he played only nine games in 2020, but I am here to tell you that now that [Brady] has recommitted to playing for the Buccaneers, I'll bet you he would get whatever greatness is left in Julio's body at [age] 33 out of Julio," Bayless said.

"I think they could be great in stretches together — not maybe Randy Moss in 2007 — but I do believe ... there's some Randy Moss left in Julio that Ryan Tannehill couldn't quite find."

Additional reporting from the Associated Press.