Eagles sign Julio Jones, injecting the locker room with a big-name veteran wide receiver

The Eagles added another big name to their passing attack Tuesday, signing star wide receiver Julio Jones to the practice squad.

Jones, 34, is a seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder was one of the best receivers in the NFL during a 10-year stretch with the Atlanta Falcons because of his rare combination of size and speed. Jones, a first-round pick out of Alabama in 2011, spent the 2021 season with the Tennessee Titans along with Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, who has said in the past that he has long admired Jones from afar.

Jones will start on the practice squad, according to a league source, similar to the Eagles’ move with veteran slot cornerback Bradley Roby two weeks ago. Like Roby, Jones will likely be elevated on game days and eventually signed to the 53-man roster before long.

Jones had 24 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games last year with the Bucs and started this season unsigned. Over his career, he has caught 903 passes for 13,629 yards and 63 touchdowns. Jones’ career receiving yardage ranks 16th all-time and he is tied with Wes Welker for 23rd all-time in receptions.

Signing Jones is somewhat reminiscent of the Eagles adding veteran defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph midway through last season.

Jones figures to slot into the Eagles’ top-heavy receiving corps as the third wideout in 11-personnel looks. The team placed Quez Watkins, the No. 3 receiver behind Brown and DeVonta Smith going into the season, on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Saturday and went into Sunday’s 20-14 road loss to the New York Jets with Olamide Zaccheaus as the third receiver.

When Jones requested a trade from Atlanta the summer before the 2021 season, Brown was instrumental in recruiting him to the Titans. Tennessee sent second- and fourth-round draft picks to Atlanta for Jones, and he caught 31 passes for 434 yards and a touchdown. The Titans released him the following offseason, allowing him to sign with the Bucs in pursuit of a championship during Tom Brady’s final year.

Jones will give the Eagles another reliable option outside of Brown, Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. Through six games the trio has accounted for 81% of the Eagles’ passing yards, which is higher than its already-heavy usage rate of 78% last season.

Part of the lopsided usage is simply due to Brown’s recent tear; the 26-year-old has 31 catches for 564 yards and two touchdowns in his last four games, which has featured the longest streak of 125-plus yards in the NFL since 2014. Smith is coming off two quiet games; he had one catch for 6 yards against the Los Angeles Rams and managed five catches for 44 yards against the Jets, although he had two uncharacteristic drops.

Still, the Eagles have gotten uneven play out of the receiving corps outside of Brown and Smith. Watkins has been in and out of the lineup with two hamstring injuries suffered three weeks apart. Even though Zaccheaus has had bright moments, the 5-foot-8 receiver is somewhat limited to the slot, where the Eagles like to deploy Smith and Brown to exploit matchups at times.