Falcons announce Julio Jones will skip minicamp

Atlanta Falcons star receiver Julio Jones will not report to the team's mandatory minicamp, the team announced on Monday.

"We have been in contact with Julio and his representation. We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement. "We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective. Although not ideal, Julio informed us today he would not be attending mini-camp."

"We have much respect for him and what he means to our team, our city and our fans."

The 29-year-old has three years remaining on his current contract, which has him as the eighth highest-paid receiver in the league in terms of annual average value. Jones, a Pro Bowler for the past four seasons, was reportedly looking for a reworked deal in May.

Jones was also absent from voluntary workouts in May and claimed that the absence was not due to a contract hold out, though his head coach Dan Quinn said he was expecting the receiver to report to June's minicamp.