Vrabel slams Julio for 'doing dumb shit that hurts the team'

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel bashed new star Julio Jones on Monday after a costly personal foul penalty highlighted the receiver's lackluster debut.

Jones was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness in the first quarter Sunday after he swung at Arizona Cardinals cornerback Byron Murphy. The Titans threw an incomplete pass on the ensuing third down, forcing them to punt while already trailing 10-0.

"Critical mistake," Vrabel said. "That's absolutely nothing that we coach or teach. So, that would fall into the category of doing dumb shit that hurts the team, right there in bold letters. It goes from third-and-1 to third-and-16."

Tennessee lost 38-13, spoiling Jones' highly anticipated debut. The 32-year-old wideout managed just three receptions for 29 yards, though the rest of the team's offense didn't fare much better.

A seven-time Pro Bowler, Jones landed with the Titans in an offseason trade from the Atlanta Falcons. He and A.J. Brown are expected to form one of the NFL's top receiver tandems.

Jones had 771 yards and three touchdowns over nine games last year while battling hamstring issues. From 2014-19, he posted at least 1,394 yards each season and twice led the league in receiving.

Copyright (C) 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.