DeAndre Hopkins Recruits Julio Jones to Cardinals: 'Remember What We Talked About'

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Having successfully recruited J.J. Watt to the Arizona Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins is now setting his sights on Julio Jones.

Hopkins shared a photo from when he and Jones were Pro Bowlers and sent a message to the Atlanta Falcons star: "Julio u remember what we talked about."

Jones' future in Atlanta has been a storyline all offseason, with the Falcons appearing to be in the early stage of a rebuild. The seven-time Pro Bowler said during a call with Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed that he wants out, accelerating the discourse.

While probably not the best look for the Falcons, Jones' comments may not have been revelatory. The MMQB's Albert Breer reported Jones spoke with the team about a trade in March and that his desire to leave has "been sort of an open secret in NFL circles for a while."

Hopkins successfully reunited with Watt, but teaming up with Jones won't be as straightforward.

Since Watt was a free agent, Arizona could easily mitigate the impact of his contract on the salary cap for 2021. He signed a two-year, $28 million deal but will only count for $4.9 million against the cap.

Jones, on the other hand, would add $23.1 million to the Cardinals' payroll when they have $13.3 million in available space.

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In a since-deleted tweet, Hopkins indicated he'd be willing to restructure his contract to make the money work.

In addition to the financial particulars, there's also the fact the Cardinals would surrender something of value in order to land the 32-year-old.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Falcons are hopeful of getting a first-round pick back but that "others around the league don’t believe the Falcons ultimately will get a first." Still, that at least indicates Atlanta isn't merely looking to dump the marquee pass-catcher.

Jones would obviously make any offense better, but this pursuit doesn't make a ton of sense for a team that already has Hopkins and used a second-round pick on Purdue's Rondale Moore.

If the Cardinals do actually pull this off, then Hopkins should start pulling double-duty as a member of the front office.