The Buffalo Bills entered this offseason knowing they would have to gameplan in trying to slow down one of the best wide receivers in the game, Julio Jones, with the Atlanta Falcons on their 2021 schedule. However, Jones had requested a trade and there was a chance that the Falcons could move the former All-Pro receiver and the Bills would avoid Jones.
However, that is not the case with reports coming out Sunday morning that the Falcons were trading Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Titans are sending a 2022 second round pick and a 2023 fourth round pick for Jones and a 2023 sixth round from the Falcons.
For the Buffalo Bills, this means the team will now face Jones in Week 6 on Monday Night Football on the road when they face the Titans instead of Week 17 when the Atlanta Falcons are scheduled to travel to Western New York to face the Bills.
The scheduled contest against the Titans was already expected to be one of the toughest games on the Bills schedule. This is a road game and the Titans beat the Bills last year 42-16 when they traveled to Tennessee. The Titans handed the Bills their first loss of the season last year.
The coaching staff will not only now need to gameplan on how to stop one of the more physically imposing running backs in Derrick Henry but also gameplan on how to stop two of the better wide receivers in the league, Julio Jones and A.J. Brown. One of the top storylines early in the season is how much this offense changes with the addition of Jones and if this offense becomes more balanced or still relies on the run game.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat but the Titans now join a group that includes the Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens in their top competition this coming season.