Now that Julio Jones' foot injury has the Atlanta Falcons' 2013 season on life support social media is atwitter with speculation that likely Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez will hit the trade block.
Not so fast, says Gonzalez. The tight end told Jay Glazer of FOX Sports Tuesday that he absolutely does not want to be traded.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a high-ranking Falcons source, that Atlanta has no interest in trading Gonzalez despite the Jones injury. The Falcons are not yet ready to give up on the season, Rapoport added.
It would make for a nice story if Gonzalez was given an opportunity to revisit past glories while giving the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs a shot in the arm, but it's easy to understand why he wants to finish his career in Atlanta.
Gonzalez never was going to put off retirement for any team other than the Falcons. It's too late in the process for the 37-year-old to learn a new offense and develop a strong rapport with a different quarterback.
Don't expect the Falcons to enter the Josh Gordonsweepstakes, either. It would make no sense for general manager Thomas Dimitroff to allocate valuable draft picks to the wide receiver position with Jones and Roddy White coming back healthy in 2014.
There is no replacing a player of Jones' caliber. If the injury turns out to be of the season-ending variety, Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith will have to make do with Gonzalez, White, Harry Douglas and perhaps a street free agent.
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