NFL Trade Rumors: Is AJ Brown's voice message plea enough to recruit Julio Jones to Tennessee Titans?
Julio Jones has made his intentions clear that he no longer wants to play with the Atlanta Falcons. In an impromptu interview with Shannon Sharpe, he said, "I want to win."
The Falcons haven't won much since their 28-34 overtime loss during Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots. The only other time Atlanta was in the Super Bowl was 18 years earlier when they lost to the Denver Broncos.
Julio Jones has shown his intent to move on from the Atlanta Falcons, and a few teams are ready to dig their claws into Jones. One of them is the Tennessee Titans, who already have two players trying to recruit Jones publicly, namely running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown.
It is important to note that Jones doesn't have much (or any) say where he will be drafted. But that didn't stop Brown from going for it and sending a voice message to Jones and posting it.
Brown took his recruiting public with a post describing why Jones should want to play for the Titans. The Titans are already opening arms to a potential Jones landing in Tennessee.
Jones reportedly asked for a trade from the Falcons months ago, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, and Atlanta has been receptive to pursuing a trade.
Brown's campaign won't influence Jones's recruitment
While Brown's recruitment efforts are inspiring, his voice message ultimately won't have much influence. He won't have a significant impact on whether Jones is drafted into the Titans or not. The Titans' general manager, Jon Robinson, will need to put in the effort to reel Jones to Tennessee.
Jones didn't respond to either message sent two years apart, but he rarely posts on social media.
When you think about Brown's attempt to influence Jones's placement, it is brazen. A player who tries to recruit another player, whether public or private, is tampering. The league's legal tampering period took place in March, although it only applies to unrestricted free agents.
The NFL doesn't penalize players for going after particular players. But in view of tampering violations, NFL players usually have no power or influence on roster decisions, unlike the NBA, where players are much more influential.
The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, were docked draft picks and fined heavily in 2016 for contacting Jeremy Maclin before the start of free agency.