Everything HC Nick Sirianni said on why the Eagles signed Julio Jones
It's no secret that 34-year-old wide receiver Julio Jones is no longer the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver that he used to be, but the Philadelphia Eagles seemed to not care when they signed him to their practice squad on Tuesday. Naturally, the signing of an injury-prone wideout has raised some eyebrows this week. But […]
It's no secret that 34-year-old wide receiver Julio Jones is no longer the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver that he used to be, but the Philadelphia Eagles seemed to not care when they signed him to their practice squad on Tuesday.
Naturally, the signing of an injury-prone wideout has raised some eyebrows this week.
But head coach Nick Sirianni cleared things up by explaining the Eagles' decision to make the move during his Wednesday press conference.
Question: How did the idea about Julio Jones come about and what was your reaction GM Howie Roseman first came to you and mentioned his name?
"Obviously we talk through things," Sirianni said. "We’re a little banged up at wide receiver and just wanted to add some extra depth and another proven guy in there.
"So, Howie and I like we always do, watched different guys together and his name came up. We watched him together and it was pretty obvious we thought when he was at Tampa last year that the film was good. We were excited about the possibility to add him."
Sirianni pointed out that Quez Watkins is on injured reserve and that backup receiver Olamide Zacchaeus has done nothing but prove his ability to step up in his place.
"So, in no indication is that a knock on O.Z," Sirianni said. "It’s just where we are, a little bit banged up, and just to get a little bit more depth in there of some guys that have played good football. Obviously, Julio, he’s a Hall of Fame player, and so he’s played good football, and we still thought the tape was good. So, excited to add him to the roster."
Question: What did you like from Julio Jones’ tape last year?
"You’re always looking at the explosion," Sirianni said. "Does he still have the juice in his legs and the ability to run, the ability to get out of cuts, the ability to make plays, and all those things we thought were still good.
"And like I said, you know, that’s what you do. You can look at the stats. You can do all those different things but it’s about putting the tape on and seeing what you see and what you think, and you know, then seeing him work out the other day, we were like, yeah, he’s still got a lot of pop in his legs, and we’re excited about that."
Jones played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season but a knee injury cut his year short. He finished with 24 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Question: With your history coaching the position, what has always impressed you most about Julio Jones’ game?
"Yeah, first of all, the way he — I thought always was like when you just see him, you’re like, ‘holy crap, this guy plays wide out,’ right," Sirianni said. "What he looks like, right, the size and everything like that, and knowing that’s going to be a long day.
"I don’t even remember the last time I was on a team that went against him. Might have been when he was in Atlanta in 2016. But I remember, I vividly remember seeing him on the sideline, or not on the sideline, in pregame, like ‘holy crap, I’m so glad I’m an offensive coach today’ and not the head coach and not having to worry about the other side of the ball. Let me focus on what I’ve got to focus on because he looks every bit the part."
Jones, who stands at 6'3" and 220 pounds, is definitely one of the bigger players at his position.
"Obviously, all the plays he makes," Sirianni continued. "It was interesting when he was running routes the other day, there was a route that he always– and I won’t get into too much of it in case we get it into our plan, there was a route we always used to run and then he kind of was talking about that when he was running routes the other day with us. It was interesting just to sit there and listen to him explain why he would do certain things on this route. I’m like, ‘golly, I’ve been trying to coach this route for years. I wish I would have been able to reach out and ask you this question earlier.’
"It seems like he’s a student of the game. And then like I said, like with the way he comes out on to the field and the way he looks, that would be what stood out and then also, the speed that he shows on this certain route that he used to run a lot of. But at the end of the day, he’s a great player, and you know, you admire that the most, the amount of plays that he made consistently year after year."
Question: How is he different from Julio Jones of 2015, 2016?
"Again, you’re still coming out here and going to see more and more each time you see him out on the field." Sirianni said. "Obviously, he’s older from that time. But still has the ability to make plays.
"Make no mistake about it, though. This pass game still is going to go through [WR] DeVonta [Smith], [WR] A.J. [Brown], and [TE] Dallas [Goedert]. So, I think that’s a little bit of a difference, right, the role he’s playing, right. More of a supporting role than a highlighted role and we’ll see how it continues to shape up. But we still know he has the ability to make plays and we’re going to need him to make plays."
While Jones' role won't be wide receiver No. 1 or even No. 2 or No. 3, the Eagles are going to keep that door open for Jones depending on what happens on the field.
Julio Jones has a simple game plan with Eagles
He’s here to prove doubters wrong.
