Although his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was short and sweet, it's impossible say Julio Jones didn't leave his mark on the franchise.
A future Hall of Famer, he racked up eleven playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl showdown against his future Bucs teammate, the greatest of all time, Tom Brady. It didn't go so well for him, even if fans in Tampa Bay still get a kick out of Atlanta's epic and historic meltdown, but the fact that he switched sides late in his career is at least an admirable move.
His career path had a few more twists after he left Atlanta and eventually wound up with the Bucs, but it's one that has finally come to an end. After 13 seasons, seven of which saw him go to a Pro Bowl, Jones has officially retired from the NFL.
It ends a career that will no doubt see him end up with a bust in Canton one day, and one that gifted Bucs fans with more than a few memories over the years.
Celebrating the career of Julio Jones, once a Buccaneers rival turned friend
The NFL phenom came out on fire in his rookie year, racking up eight touchdowns and 959 receiving yards—falling just shy of the 1,000-yard milestone. To the dismay of Bucs fans, that was just the warm-up. From 2011 to 2019, Jones torched defenses for an unreal 1,347 yards per season on average, paired with an impressive 6.3 touchdowns a year over that eight-year tear.
He was beyond elite over this stretch, helping bring the Falcons to four playoff berths. Against the Buccaneers alone over his career he was a downright nightmare—114 catches, 1,841 yards, and eleven touchdowns in just sixteen games. That’s the kind of stat line that keeps Tampa fans up at night.
By the tail end of his career, the Buccaneers took a gamble and signed the veteran 2022, hoping to juice up the receiver room with some sure-handed veteran magic. Jones wasn’t slated for a star role—more of a plug-and-play guy as his career came to a close—but he still flashed that vintage stardom. His best game with the Bucs came in Week 10 against Seattle, where he snagged three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown, a vintage flex that carved his name into NFL history.
The future hall of farmers Tampa tenure was brief, but Jones didn’t leave without dropping a record for the ages. In that same Seattle game played out in Germany for the first time in NFL history he teamed up with Brady to become the first duo to score an NFL touchdown in Germany, with Jones taking the honors as the first player to cross that international goal line.
The Buccaneers hold a place in NFL history thanks to Julio Jones, and I hope he enjoys his retirement.
