Early this week Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones had said he didn’t know much about the issues regarding whether players should attend the draft, but that he wants to shake the commissioner’s hand. Now Jones has confirmed that he was invited and will be there.
Asked by Adam Schein on Sirius NFL Radio whether he’ll be at the draft, Jones said he definitely will.
“Yes, sir,” Jones said. “I have been invited and also will attend.”
Jones said no one -- not the NFLPA*, not his agent -- ever urged him not to go, and that once he was invited the only people he talked to were his family.
“We decided that we’d love to go there,” Jones said. “You know, it’s a one-in-a-lifetime chance.”
Despite talk that there would be an NFLPA*-led boycott or an NFLPA*-sponsored alternative draft event, Jones’ view seems to be the general consensus: The young guys who aren’t even in the NFL yet shouldn’t have to give up their once-in-a-lifetime experience just because the active players and the owners can’t work out a deal.