3 Players Ravens Can Cut to Make Room for Julio Jones Trade

The Atlanta Falcons have been reportedly mulling a Julio Jones trade as we approach the 2021 NFL Draft. With the team up against the salary cap for the foreseeable future, moving off of the 32-year-old's $23 million cap hit does make some sense.

But as good as Jones is, his contract makes him very difficult to trade. In fact, it's reportedly prevented the Baltimore Ravens from engaging in serious talks, as Jay Glazer reported that the organization inquired about a deal, but his contract made the move unrealistic.

If Baltimore elects to go all-in on Jones, here are three players the Ravens could cut to make room for to trade for the seven-time Pro Bowler.

Julio Jones Trade Ravens

3. Deshon Elliott, FS

Deshon Elliott is a solid sixth-round pick who the team added back in 2018. Cutting him would save the team about $2 million against the cap this year. That may not sound like much, but Baltimore has about $15 million in cap space right now. If it wants to open enough room to add Jones, while maintaining the flexibility to sign draft picks, the Ravens will have to make some moves on the margins like this.

2. Bradley Bozeman, OG

Cutting Bradley Bozeman would save Baltimore about $2 million. Bozeman is a serviceable starting guard, so obviously the team would prefer not to move on. But he's far from irreplaceable. And the Ravens frankly don't have many players they can cut without incurring a massive penalty. Eric DeCosta would have to make some tough decisions like this, while also restructuring deals, to make room for Julio.

1. Gus Edwards, RB

Baltimore can get out of Gus Edwards' $3.3 million deal with no dead money. Edwards is a serviceable player, but it seems clear that the team is giving the backfield to J.K. Dobbins moving forward. Baltimore could use the money it saves by cutting Edwards to clear some space, and the organization shouldn't have much trouble finding another solid late-round RB to replace him this weekend.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.