Atlanta Falcons' star wide receiver Julio Jones has yet to join his teammates for offseason workouts and his recent social media activity added more speculation that there's a rift between him and the Falcons organization.
Jones had Falcons fans freaking out yesterday when he deleted all of his Falcons photos on instagram and unfollowed his teammates on twitter while making his account private. However, despite scrubbing his social media account of all Falcons imagery, the team said the deletion of the Falcons photos had to do with Jones wanting a "fresh start'' on social media, and nothing more.
According to ESPN, another reason for the social media restart was to set an example for Alabama Crimson Tide players, who he had spent the day with. Last month, during a barbershop conversation with Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Jones spoke about his stance on social media, saying, "At the end of the day, when that social media is gone -- you delete social media right now, what you stand for, who are you?" Jones said. "Social media ain't going to make me."
After signing a five-year, $71.25 million extension ($47 million guaranteed) in August 2015, Jones still has three years and $34.43 million left on the deal, according to ESPN. His $14.25 million average falls below some of the league's other top receivers, such as Antonio Brown, Mike Evans and DeAndre Hopkins, as well as Sammy Watkins and A.J. Green.