Lions reunite with veteran wide receiver on one-year deal: report

Wide receiver Marvin Jones is heading back to the Detroit Lions. 

The veteran is reportedly expected to sign a one-year, $3 million contract that could be worth up to $5 million, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

Detroit was Jones’ home in the NFL from 2016-2020, his longest stint with a team in his 11-year career. 

Jones has spent the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, totaling 1,361 yards and seven touchdowns on 119 receptions in 33 regular season games. 

With Detroit, Jones had his first and only 1,000-yard season in 2017. He caught 61 passes for 1,101 yards with nine touchdowns as the Lions’ top receiving option that year. 

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In 2020, the last of his five years before heading to Duval County, Jones caught 76 passes for 978 yards and nine touchdowns.

It’s a different Lions team Jones is joining. It has some solid young talent, especially on the offensive side. Quarterback Jared Goff proved last season he can work well as a gunslinger in the pocket. The Lions had the fourth-most yards of total offense, averaging 380 per game, 251.8 through the air. 

His top receiver has become Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had 1,161 yards and six touchdowns. But 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams, who was hurt most of his rookie season, should be fully healthy for the Lions heading into training camp as well as Josh Reynolds, who came up with big catches last year. 

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Jones’ veteran presence should fit well with the youngsters of the group as Detroit continues to rebuild itself into a playoff team. 

Detroit finished 9-8 last season in Dan Campbell’s second year as head coach, its best record since 2017 when it finished 9-7. While it didn’t earn the team a playoff spot in the NFC, the Lions were thrilled to see that things appear headed in the right direction. 

Jones knows what it feels like to be on a rebuilding team that reaches the playoffs after a drought. The Jaguars put together a second half run to win the AFC South last season. And they pulled off a miraculous comeback to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.