A reunion is in store for the Lions and a familiar face on offense. Veteran wideout Marvin Jones Jr. is signing in Detroit on a one-year deal, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). 
The contract has a base value of $3MM, while incentives could push it to $5MM. This deal will allow the 33-year-old to return to the Motor City, where he played between 2016 and 2020. It was during that span that he enjoyed the most productive campaigns of his career.
After starting his career with the Bengals, Jones established himself as one of the NFL’s top deep deep threats with the Lions. In 2017, he posted 1,101 yards and nine touchdowns on a league-leading average of 18 yards per reception. While his production dipped in the following seasons with injuries, the former fifth-rounder rebounded with 978 yards and another nine touchdowns in his final Lions term.
That helped earn Jones a two-year, $14.5MM contract with the Jaguars on the open market. The Cal product was brought in to serve as a veteran presence on an otherwise young team, and he was relied on heavily in 2021. Drawing a career-high 120 targets that year, Jones put up a 73-832-4 statline. His workload took a signficant step back this past season, after Jacksonville had made a number of investments in their pass-catching corps. As a result, Jones’ yardage total dropped to its lowest figure since 2018.
Still, he should be able to operate as a consistent secondary option amidst the Lions’ WR options. Detroit had a surprisingly efficient passing attack in 2022, but Amon-Ra St. Brown easily distanced himself from the rest of the team’s wideouts in terms of production. Especially since one-year signing DJ Chark has departed for the Panthers, Jones will be able to fill a veteran void at the position upon his return.
In addition to St. Brown, and now Jones, the Lions will of course also have 2022 first-rounder Jameson Williams in place for 2023. The latter was, as expected, limited in his game action and workload during his rookie campaign due to his recovery from a torn ACL. Now healthy, the Alabama product should give Detroit significant upside in their downfield passing game. Jones will give the team an additional boost in that regard, as he looks to regain his previous form with the team in the coming season.
Welcome back Marvin
Getting strong Mortal Kombat vibes with that picture making MJjr look like Goro
Good depth I guess, but he’s well into the decline. About equal to josh Reynolds
Thank you for pointing this out, Mr. Glass Half Empty.
He will kill it in Ben Johnsons offense chief
Good, solid replacement
Welcome back, four arms!
Love what the Lions are doing!!
Love what the Lions are doing!
Welcome back Mr. Jones Jr.! This is a great addition and the perfect mentor for young Jameson Williams. The Lions are set to have their best receiving corps since the days of Moore-Perriman-Morton!!!
Extremely excited about this signing! MJ is a very dependable WR that will be a solid presence for St. Brown and JWill in the receiver room. He is not only great on the field but was active in the community and is a great person. He will thrive in Ben Johnson’s offense.
wouldve loved him on Steelers.. agreed.. good reliable hands, veteran presence
Chark got $5M for 1 year with an ankle injury.
Jones got $3M for 1 year and is older.
They both had about 500 yds with 3 TD last year, but Jones had 5 more games to collect those stats.
Each was on a team that meandered for half a season.
Your point being what exactly?
I think the Lions are going to be the disappointment team next year. Every year there’s a team that finishes strong and makes some moves and everyone jumps on the bandwagon but they flop. Last year was the Broncos. The year before was the Browns. The year before that was the Cardinals. I just don’t trust Goff and the defense needs to prove it
You’re a hater. They’ve improved the defense and offense by adding CJ-Gardner-Johnson, Cam Sutton, and Emmanuel Moseley. Added David Montgomery at RB, just added Marvin Jones in addition to having 2 1st round picks to add more flexability. They have one of the best O-Lines in the NFL. The Lions are on the comeup. Probably one of the best teams in the NFC. When have you ever heard of the Lions being talked about like that?
Not a hater. I just don’t think they’re gonna be as good as people think. I’m predicting an 8-9 or 9-8 record. The one thing in their favor is they play in a week division. I’m just not a fan of Goff. He reminds me of a Baker Mayfield or Ryan Tannehill. Plus, the new players on defense will take awhile
Goff vs Tannehill – link to stathead.com
Goff vs Mayfield – link to stathead.com
Tannehill vs Mayfield – link to stathead.com
Tannehill compares more closely with Mayfield on a per game basis than either does with Goff.
Goff vs Carr – link to stathead.com
Goff does compare similarly to Derek Carr.
I think Goff benefited enormously from an O-Line that was performing at a high level. Look what happened to Stafford in LA with a bad O-Line.
This doesn’t mean he’ll repeat last year, nor does it mean the Lions will go deep in the playoffs. Yes, the NFC North is weak, but so is the NFC South.
The Lions showed promise, but they it was easy for a team with the the issues they’ve had to hit a promise point. Clearly they can’t afford to start badly as they did last year and expect to do well.
We shall see. Every year there’s a team that is expected to take a jump and doesn’t. It’s just an opinion, just like yours is.
You’re right. But as far as the NFC goes, if they get off to a better start and Goff continues to play well, they have just as good of a chance as anyone else. The Eagles I think take a step back. They lost a lot of key players, the Cowboys are the Cowboys, the 49ers might be the best team in the NFC, outside of them, nobody strikes any fear to be truthful.
Like I said, it’s easier to predict a team like KC or Buffalo and Cincinnati the last 2 years to win games than it is a team that hasn’t experienced it. Detroit is getting too much praise for a team that hasn’t done anything.
That’s a reasonable assessment based on their inability to progress, almost ever. There were calls early last season for Campbell to be fired. The team got hot and just missed a playoff spot. Ifs don’t count in the standings.
You can be cautiously optimistic on them without having a Kool-Aid mustache.
The entire NFC is a crap shoot at this point.
Ugh! Just what the Lions need, a 33-year old WR in the twilight of his career. Never been a fan of Jones.
He’s no longer a “deep deep threat”.
WOW, I never knew he had 4 arms before I saw that picture!!! Why didn’t my Eagles sign him??