After spending months as a free agent, Julio Jones has a new NFL team he’s playing with in 2022.
The receiver is heading down to Tampa Bay to play for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This now gives Brady multiple threats at the wide receiver position.
However, with Jones being an older receiver, does he have anything left in the tank to be a threat?
A look at his career, and current health, can show us if he’s out of gas or if he’s got a little left in the tank.
Injuries In Jones’ Career Siphon The Gas Left In The Tank
The past two seasons have seen Jones taking the path of regression.
However, injuries in those years would siphon off the gas he had remaining in the tank.
His last full season came in 2018, where he didn’t miss any games and was the leader in receiving yards.
Julio Jones 2014-2019
– 2x 1st Team All Pro (2015, 2016)
– 3x 2nd Team All Pro (2017-2019)
– 6x Pro Bowl (2014-2019)
– 2x Receiving yards leader (2015, 2018)
– 1x Receptions leader (2015) (tied with AB)— J.T. Tuimoloau Fan Club (@BrandonHonaker1) May 29, 2022
But he would do well in 2019 as well, only missing one game to help heal up a shoulder injury going into a short rest week.
While 2018 and 2019 saw him making the best of things, the following two seasons would be where the injuries became too much.
A hamstring injury during the 2020 season wouldn’t go away, and his team did him no favors by giving him little rest.
Instead of making a full recovery before returning, he would keep re-aggravating this injury.
The 2021 season was no different, as a hamstring injury would keep him out of games.
However, will 2022 be a different story for Jones and his hamstrings?
Hamstring Issues Are Tough To Recover From
The problem for Jones isn’t how much he has left in the tank.
He’s a star receiver that’s tough as nails and his body has suffered from this.
However, the problem is how he never got proper resting time when he had his hamstring pull in 2020.
Depending on the grade of hamstring injury, the recovery time could be three to four months for the worst type of hamstring injury.
Biceps femoris is part of hamstring muscles. Other two being Semi-tendinosis and Semi-membranosis. Complete hamstring injury takes 3 to 4 months recovery time while injury to individual muscles like in Biceps femoris will take 4 to 6 weeks.
— Dr And a Cule (@BhatAthar10) March 18, 2022
But even lower grade hamstring injuries take at least three weeks to heal from.
However, Jones never got that much time off in 2020, until it was too late.
The likely damage from playing while not fully recovered has cost him many more games in his career.
It could also lead to his time in Tampa Bay to be hampered yet again by a hamstring injury.
A Great Player Who May Never Be The Same
Jones will go down as one of the greatest receivers to play the game.
However, he isn’t the same, and it’s not from the lack of his abilities on the football field.
It comes from him not allowing his injury to heal properly.
It’s what could rob him from what should be a great season with Brady.
Jones has shown he’s willing to work hard and play every game he can for his team.
But that ethic won’t matter if he has one more hamstring injury in 2022, which would end his return with the best QB of all time.
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