Julio Jones describes 'surreal' excitement to join Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. — Julio Jones said he never imagined joining forces with a longtime NFC South division rival in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and playing with Tom Brady.

But that's where life has taken Jones on his quest to win a championship — one of the few prizes that has eluded the the future Hall of Fame wide receiver who spent last season with the Tennessee Titans after a decade with the Atlanta Falcons.

«I didn't, I didn't think that,» Jones said Wednesday. «But that's the past. I'm here now. I'm looking forward, I'm not looking backwards. It's a great opportunity for me to be a part of something special in the Buccaneer family. Just looking forward to getting to work.»

Jones acknowledged the irony of joining forces with Brady, the quarterback led the Patriots' historic comeback from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, which was Jones' only Super Bowl appearance.

But Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowler who has twice led the league in receiving yards, said he wanted the best opportunity to win a ring.

«Why we gotta bring up old stuff? He did it. He did it. He did it,» Jones joked before conveying his excitement. «It's just a surreal moment. It's amazing. I'm ready to go though. At the end of the day, it's all about accountability. I have to be accountable for him, the team, everybody, right? With all that said and done, I've still gotta come to work. I still have to put the work in.

»You can say, 'Oh yeah, Julio's with the Bucs, we got Mike [Evans], we got Tom,' but we've all gotta put the work in. Nobody's gonna give us anything. So we've just gotta come out here and work each and every day. That's all it's about."

As Brady has done with several free agent pick-ups, including Jones' former Falcons teammate