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Colts’ Darius Leonard is recruiting Julio Jones to reunite with Matt Ryan in Indianapolis

Written by on March 23, 2022

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The Colts have their new quarterback, acquiring longtime Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan on Monday. Could Ryan’s former No. 1 target be the team’s next big-name addition? Linebacker Darius Leonard sure hopes so. Hours after Indianapolis announced its trade with Atlanta, Leonard was tweeting at Julio Jones, recruiting the veteran wide receiver for a reunion with Ryan in blue.

“Hear me out!” Leonard wrote Jones, who spent 10 years catching passes from Ryan with the Falcons. “Matt (has) already thrown you a lot of touchdowns in the dome in Atlanta, (but) ya’ll could finish what ya’ll started … in the dome here in Indy!”

Jones, 33, is a free agent after being released by the Titans at the official start of the offseason. The seven-time Pro Bowler has been limited by injuries the last two seasons, missing a combined 14 games with Atlanta and Tennessee, the latter of which acquired him via trade last June. Still, if anyone has a proven rapport with Ryan, it’s Jones, who eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards seven different times as the QB’s top target with the Falcons. The wideout’s 83 catches for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns in 2016 helped Ryan win NFL MVP as Atlanta advanced to the Super Bowl.

The Colts, meanwhile, still have ample salary-cap space and could use wide receiver help. Reserve Zach Pascal just signed with the Eagles on Monday, while longtime starter T.Y. Hilton remains unsigned after battling his own injuries in recent years. Indy could conceivably be in the market for a new No. 2 opposite Michael Pittman Jr.

The post Colts’ Darius Leonard is recruiting Julio Jones to reunite with Matt Ryan in Indianapolis first appeared on CBS Sports.


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