Falcons BREAKING: Atlanta Trades LB Deion Jones to Browns

The Atlanta Falcons traded Deion Jones after six seasons with the team. The Cleveland Browns are swapping late-round draft picks to land the former LSU linebacker.

Jeremy Brener | Oct 9, 2022

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The Atlanta Falcons are saying goodbye to one of the longest-tenured members of the team.

According to NFL Network, the Falcons are trading long time linebacker Deion Jones to the Cleveland Browns.

Jones has been on Injured Reserve (IR) for the first five games of the season while the team has been trying to figure out how to progress with Jones. Now, there's a solution.

Jones has been a trade-fodder subject for a long time, and he was rumored to be in trade talks this summer, but the team couldn't find a new home for him before he suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the offseason.

The Browns are looking to contend for a playoff spot sooner rather than later, as evidenced by the team's trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson back in March. The Falcons were reportedly the backup option for Watson before the Browns offered the quarterback $230 million.

Now, Cleveland adds to the payroll even more in a risk the team is hoping will pay off.

Jones, 27, is in the third year of a four-year, $57 million contract. He has the highest cap hit on the team at $20 million, which puts him $5 million above the next-biggest hit.

Jones was a 16-game starter last year, finishing with 137 tackles, one shy of matching his career high total. Despite his productive campaign, Jones struggled to hold up against blockers, with his down-to-down impact ultimately not being what his cap hit and numbers would suggest.

With Jones gone, only Jake Matthews and Grady Jarrett remain from the last Falcons team that made the Super Bowl six years ago.

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Published Oct 9, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.