Atlanta Falcons linebacker Deion Jones didn’t have to wait long after teammate Grady Jarrett got paid to get his new deal. Wednesday evening the team announced they had signed Jones to a four-year, $57 million contract extension that will keep him in Atlanta through the 2023 season. The contract comes with $34 million in guaranteed cash.
Falcons are signing LB Deion Jones a four-year, $57 million extension, including $34 million guaranteed, @RosenhausSports tells ESPN. Jones is now tied to the Falcons through the 2023 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2019
With Jarrett, and now Jones off the contract table, the stage is set for a mammoth deal for wide receiver Julio Jones, who has already agreed not to hold out and trust owner Arthur Blank to treat him right. That deal could be coming at any moment since Julio posted an Instagram story of him and Deion on a private jet giving a “shout out” to Blank.
If anything, the quick move on Jones two days after signing Jarrett, shows Julio Jones’ faith is justified.
Jones was a second round pick out of LSU back in 2016. He missed 11 games in 2018 after suffering a foot injury in the Atlanta’s season opening game. In his six starts, he recorded a ridiculous 53 tackles, one for a loss, a sack, six passes defended, two interceptions and one returned for a touchdown.
Deion Jones is tough, smart, fast, instinctive, a sure-tackler, a leader, team captain and arguably the best coverage linebacker in the NFL. He's the ideal fit for what the Falcons want to do defensively.
Hard to overstate how important his extension is to this franchise.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 17, 2019
Jones is one of the best pass coverage linebackers in all of football. Last season, only Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks graded higher by Pro Football Focus. Jones, in just six games remember, earned a 91.6.
Jones led the entire Falcons team in tackles his first two seasons, with 106 in 13 starts and 15 games as a rookie and 138 in 2017. His two interceptions last season were a career low and he has eight in three seasons, which would be good for any elite coverage linebacker. But when you consider he’s missed 11 games in that period, it becomes ever more impressive.
As a second round pick, the Falcons had to act fast to keep Jones on the squad. His fellow 2016 draft class teammate, safety Keanu Neal, had his fifth-year option picked up since he was a first round pick. It gives Atlanta the chance to take care of the other deals before looking at Neal who, like Jones, was hurt nearly all of last season.
