3 positives of 49ers not trading for Julio Jones

The Titans, not the 49ers, ultimately ended up trading for Falcons superstar wide receiver Julio Jones, and this isn’t necessarily bad for San Francisco.

Would the San Francisco 49ers benefit if they were somehow able to land no-longer Atlanta Falcons superstar wide receiver Julio Jones?

Absolutely. A complete 100-percent yes.

Instead, it’s the Tennessee Titans who ultimately acquired the 32-year-old seven-time Pro Bowler in a blockbuster move after Jones made it clear he wanted out from Atlanta. And while the included compensation in the package is something the Niners could have afforded, it’ll be Tennessee’s responsibility now to ship off the assets while taking on Jones’ applicable salary.

The terms of the deal, courtesy of NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

San Francisco needs receiver help still. And with the Super Bowl window open, going all-in on a player of Jones’ ilk would have provided a massive boost to a receiver room that has plenty of question marks behind Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

Jones would have made the 49ers a better team, yes. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense already helped earn Jones two first-team All-Pro nods back between 2015 and 2016 when Shanahan was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. And despite Jones’ age and recent injury history, there’s little questioning whether or not Jones could have been a vital factor in propelling the Niners from a playoff contender to a potential Super Bowl favorite.

All that said, there are some positive takeaways from San Francisco not getting Jones after all.

So, if you were hoping the 49ers would have landed Jones, at least take some comfort in these three positives from the non-trade.