Julio Jones' Strange Thursday Comments About Falcons Contract Suggest Possibility of Holdout

It would appear that Antonio Brown isn't the only superstar wideout making headlines on the NFL's season-opening Thursday.

After months of acting like everything was copacetic, Julio Jones suggested in a Thursday presser that he would consent to sitting out games, especially Sunday's contest against the Vikings, if the Atlanta Falcons don't hand him a new contract. The All-Pro pass catcher also noted that he's dealing with an injury, but it certainly seems like the pain threshold was an afterthought, following the dollar conversation.

The last we heard of Julio came on Aug. 19 when his agent, Jimmy Sexton, was reportedly heading to Atlanta to finalize a new-and-improved contract extension. Based on Thursday's quotes, however, both sides aren't necessarily close to an agreement.

The Alabama product followed up by claiming that he "plans on playing," but made it abundantly clear that he really doesn't know at this moment.

If Jones was significantly disgruntled, there's no doubting that he would come out and say that he wasn't playing. The fact that he's being indecisive suggests that he's only trying to force the Falcons' hand, and that Arthur Blank's generosity may not have gone as far as he expected. He loves Atlanta, the franchise that drafted him sixth overall back in 2011, and clearly doesn't want to burn any bridges.

However, he only has two years remaining on his five-year, $71.25 million deal he signed back in 2015, and is only set to make just north of $9 mil in 2019. He's simply one of the best WRs in the league and wants to be compensated for his world-beating production and value.

Stay tuned for updates, as this narrative could potentially morph into a massive storyline if an agreement is not reached before too long.