National Football League

Dimitroff: Falcons want Julio Jones in Atlanta long-term

Published Feb. 19, 2015 8:12 p.m. ET

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The debate on whether to sign wide receiver Julio Jones to a contract extension now, or hold off to see how things play out has been simmering for some time now. Now that the 2014 season is behind the Falcons and 2015 is a contract year for Jones, that debate is starting to heat up.

The merits of both sides of the conversation -- for signing Jones as soon as possible versus waiting for a while -- were laid out last week here at FOX Sports South.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff spoke on the intricacies on team building at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Thursday.

"There's no question that we've had discussions about Julio, and obviously everyone else on our roster," Dimitroff said. "When you're talking about one of the guys that we feel is one of the best talents in the league, that of course, is going to be a discussion topic.

"We will continue to look at what we have here when we start putting together the team and thinking about being creative because, as co-team builders, it's important for us to look at the nuances of money and how we're going to put everything together. This is much more difficult than it was many years ago, in my mind, to try and take a quarterback who's going to be very expensive and take a receiver and take a couple other positions and make sure you're paying market value and also making sure you have enough space on the team to do the right thing."

The right thing for the Falcons, according to Dimitroff, is having Jones around long-term.

"Plain and simple, we want Julio to be here for many years to come," Dimitroff said.

Jones is coming off his best season to date. He caught 104 passes and finished third in the league with 1,593 receiving yards. He caught six touchdown passes, and no receiver in the NFL logged more than Jones' 31 plays of 20 yards or more.

As Jones enters the final season of his rookie contract, the Falcons will be on the hook for the $10.2 million cap hit he's owed. But his 2015 salary isn't what's on everyone's mind.

When the negotiations begin between Jones' agents and the Falcons, the price tag is going to be huge. He likely won't sign the richest contract of any wide receiver ever, but Jones' new deal will be closer to Calvin Johnson's seven-year, $113.5 million deal than league average.

Bird is the Word Podcast: Should Falcons extend Jones' contract? by Fox Sports South Podcasts on Mixcloud

Making that big contract work with quarterback Matt Ryan's $103.75 deal will be a challenge, especially with the Falcons being in a situation where they need to fix many areas of the roster.

The Falcons also must consider Jones' injury history. Jones has only played in 16 games once during his four-year career. But Dimitroff said the Falcons like where he's at physically.

"I believe his health is fine," Dimitroff said. "He's coming off his most recent challenge and he did really well this year. He's done a really nice job in training, and he's very mindful of his body. And those are the kind of athletes you want -- they're very mindful about what they put in their body and how they treat their body. And that's a positive for us with him."

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