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Julio Jones is now the latest weapon in Tom Brady's arsenal. The 33-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers to provide Brady and the Buccaneers with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the wide receivers available at their disposal.
While Jones is known for his time with the Atlanta Falcons, he spent last season with the Tennessee Titans. But it was such a let down that the team decided to release him ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
A part of the wideout's downfall can be credited to his recent injury struggles. The former Falcons star was electric until 2019, getting seven Pro Bowl and two All-Pro nods in the process. But ever since, injuries have hampered his progress on the field.
Since the start of the 2020 NFL season, Jones has picked up injuries on nine separate occasions which have seen him miss 14 games. This exact issue is what one NFL scout, while speaking to Heavy.com stated could be what makes or breaks the wideout's career in Tampa:
"For Julio, it all comes down to health. If he can stay healthy, and stay on the field, he’s going to have a major impact."
Julio Jones reveals the role Tom Brady had in roping him into Tampa
Tom Brady has built a bit of a reputation for himself of being a master recruiter. The seven-time Super Bowl champ personally played a big role in bringing stars like Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown to Tampa.
And the latest addition to that list seems to be Julio Jones. The wideout during his first press conference as a Buccaneers player stated that the two were constantly in touch and that it was perhaps Brady's tactic to entice him to sign for the the NFC franchise:
"I talked to Tom several times, but you know it's just, we just talked. It wasn't really nothing about coming to Tampa, we was just communicating, feeling each other out I guess... It was probably a tactic, but I don't know, I'm here."
The former All-Pro now adds to the Buccaneers' wide receiver depth chart, which already includes the likes of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. And with Brady entering the final year of his contract with the Buccaneers, the quarterback will look to go out with a bang.
