Julio: 'Surreal moment' to join Brady, title-contending Bucs
Julio Jones will get a chance to capture his first championship after joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the wideout is still wrapping his head around the prospect of playing with the Super Bowl hopefuls and star quarterback Tom Brady.
"Just being with a Hall of Fame quarterback, great quarterback, great coaching staff," Jones said Wednesday, according to NESN's Sean T. McGuire. "I mean, like I said, it's a surreal moment. It's amazing. I'm ready to go. But at the end of the day, it's all about accountability. I have to be accountable for him (Brady), the team, everybody.
"So with all that said and done, I still have to come to work. I still have to put the work in. You can say, 'We got Mike (Evans). We got Tom.' But we all have to put the work in. Nobody's going to give us anything. We just got to come out here and work each and every day. That's all it's about."
The seven-time Pro Bowler signed a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $6 million, picking Tampa Bay over the Green Bay Packers.
For the first time in his career, a team likely won't ask Jones to take on a leading role. Although he often played second fiddle to A.J. Brown during his lone injury-riddled season with the Tennessee Titans, Jones will compete for work with Evans, Chris Godwin, and free-agent addition Russell Gage in Tampa Bay.
Despite boasting an array of talent on offense, Brady was apparently still working behind the scenes to entice Jones back to the NFC South.
"You think he gave me a call? Did Tom call me? What's his area code?" Jones said. "Yeah, I talked to him. I talked with Tom several times. But we were just talking. It wasn't really about coming to Tampa, we were just communicating. Feeling each other out, I guess. Probably was a tactic, but I don't know. I'm here."
The biggest question facing Jones will be his availability after he missed 14 games over the last two seasons. But Jones has insisted he's "100% healthy" as training camp kicks off, according to The Athletic's Greg Auman.
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