At one point, the New England Patriots were listed as the oddsmakers’ favorite to land Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones via trade. However, it now seems as if they were not all that interested in acquiring the perennial All-Pro to begin with.
NBC Sports’ Peter King and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer shared that perspective in their respective Monday morning columns. King noted that the money involved in the transaction was the deciding factor from the Patriots’ perspective:
New England never had serious interest in committing $38 million to a 32-year-old receiver.