TAMPA, Fla. — Julio Jones is the latest high-profile veteran to join forces with Tom Brady in pursuit of a Super Bowl ring.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver to a one-year contract Wednesday, bolstering an already impressive array of playmakers the team has assembled around the soon-to-be 45-year-old quarterback.
Jones, who spent 10 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before being traded to Tennessee last year, is coming off the worst statistical season of his career and was released by the Titans in March.
With the Bucs, he joins a talented receiving group that includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and offseason acquisition Russell Gage as Brady’s primary playmakers.
The Bucs also added veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph in free agency as a replacement for Rob Gronkowski, who announced his retirement.
“I’m looking forward, I’m not looking backward,” Jones said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to be a part of something special.”
The 33-year-old receiver has missed 14 games because of injuries over the past two seasons and was let go by the Titans after finishing with 31 receptions for 434 yards and one touchdown in 2021.
BENGALS: Quarterback Joe Burrow had an appendectomy, but there is no timetable for his return to the field, Coach Zac Taylor said.
Taylor said he didn’t expect the star quarterback to fall behind in practice. Burrow had surgery Tuesday and Taylor expected Burrow to be released from the hospital Wednesday, which happened to be the first official day of workouts for the Bengals.
BROWNS: Deshaun Watson is practicing and waiting. He’s had plenty of work at that.
Cleveland’s controversial quarterback got on the field as the Browns opened training camp still not knowing if Watson will be suspended by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy.
Watson has been accused by more than two dozen massage therapists in Texas of sexual misconduct, and the three-time Pro Bowler faces possible punishment from league disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson, who has been weighing his case for weeks.
There had been an expectation that Robinson, a retired judge who was jointly appointed by the league and NFL Players Association to handle player penalties, would render her decision before camp, but that didn’t happen.
GIANTS: While there will be plenty of players, coaches and front office personnel under the microscope heading into the season, no one is going to be watched more closely than Daniel Jones.
The 25-year-old quarterback is heading into a make-or-break year as the Giants opened practice for the first time in training camp.
New general manager Joe Schoen and the team didn’t pick up the fifth year of Jones’ 2019 rookie contract when he was the sixth pick overall in the draft. To be honest, there was little reason to do it. New York has had five straight losing seasons and Jones has been inconsistent in his three seasons under Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge.
The Giants haven’t helped him much. His offensive lines have been weak, there have been injuries to running back Saquon Barkley in 2020 and then rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney in 2021 in a dreadful 4-13 season.
Much has changed in the past seven months. Former Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen has replaced Dave Gettleman as the GM. Brian Daboll, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator, has taken over from Judge. There is again a new offensive system for Jones to learn, and the pressure is on.
If Jones struggles, the Giants are going to cut their ties. There has already been speculation about the Giants trading for San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jones has a 12-25 record as a starter and is coming off a season where he missed the final six games with a neck injury.
Daboll, who developed Bills star quarterback Josh Allen, said he is trying to teach Jones, correct the mistakes and continue his evaluation.
“We’ll teach him, and let him go out there and play,” Daboll said. “There’s mistakes in every practice, and there’s mistakes in every game, and you keep a cool, calm head.”
SEAHAWKS: The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran linebacker K.J. Wright to a one-day contract so he could retire with the team that drafted him more than a decade ago.
Wright, 33, was selected in the fourth-round of the 2011 draft out of Mississippi State and instantly became a stalwart starter during Seattle’s run to consecutive Super Bowls and for years beyond. He spent 10 of his 11 seasons with Seattle and started all but four regular-season games during his Seahawks career.
HALL OF FAME: Super Bowl-winning coaches Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren are among 24 seniors, coaches and contributors selected as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
Shanahan, who led the Denver Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl titles, and Holmgren, who won with the Green Bay Packers, are joined by 10 other coaches/contributors, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell.
The list of 12 former players includes four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Ken Anderson and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.
The 12-person Seniors Committee will meet Aug. 16, and each committee member will present one finalist. The committee’s final vote will send three Seniors to the full 49-person Selection Committee for consideration at its annual meeting in early 2023. Each of those three could be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at that meeting.
Expansion of the Seniors pool to three for possible election to the Hall was approved earlier this year for the Classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The remaining list of players: linebackers Randy Gradishar, Maxie Baughan, Tommy Nobis and Chuck Howley; offensive linemen Bob Kuechenberg; two-way player Cecil Isbell; defensive linemen Joe Klecko and cornerbacks Eddie Meador, Ken Riley and Everson Walls.
The remaining list of coaches/contributors: television executive and producer Roone Arledge; coach Don Coryell; front-office executive Frank “Bucko” Kilroy; coach Buddy Parker; coach Dan Reeves; Steelers vice president Art Rooney Jr.; coach Clark Shaughnessy; and long-time executive John Wooten.
CARDINALS: The Arizona Cardinals are hopeful that newly acquired receiver Marquise Brown won’t miss much time with an injured hamstring.
The team put Brown on the active/non-football injury list on Tuesday, meaning the receiver counts toward the 90-man preseason roster but can’t practice or play until he’s removed from the list.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said Brown hurt his hamstring last week while he was running routes.
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