In addition to wide receiver Julio Jones, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is sitting out the early portion of the Falcons’ OTAs, which started Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the workouts.
Jarrett received the team’s franchise tag and signed the $15.2 million agreement. The Falcons have until July 12 to reach an extension with Jarrett. There is no timeline on the Jones’ deal although the team has repeatedly expressed optimism about reaching a deal.
It’s possible Jarrett could play the season on the franchise tag.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, acknowledged that while some player contracts are getting more lucrative, he still believes that Jarrett and Jones will be “Falcons for life.”
“They are both great players, both Grady and Julio,” Blank told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via phone from the NFL meetings in March. “They both will be Falcons for life. I feel pretty good, comfortable and confident in saying that.”
Jarrett, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Clemson, has developed into a fine pro. The franchise-tag price for defensive tackles is the average of the top five paid players at the position.
“With Grady, we tagged him, so that gives us more time to work on a pretty complicated deal that makes sense for him and makes sense for the club, the franchise,” Blank said.
Oakland drove up the wide-receiver market by giving new guarantees to Antonio Brown after he forced his way out of Pittsburgh.
By contrast, Jones has been a model citizen.
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