Detroit Lions re-signing Marvin Jones Jr. to 1-year deal

The Detroit Lions reunion tour continues!

After bringing back both guard Graham Glasgow and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin following them playing elsewhere, the Lions are signing another familiar name in free agency. Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Lions are signing wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. to a one-year, $3 million deal with incentives that can kick it to a $5 million total.

Jones Jr. has spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars after thriving in Detroit for five seasons. From 2016-20, Jones Jr. hauled in 289 catches for 4,296 yards and 36 touchdowns with the Lions. Now he returns to the team who ranked fifth in points scored last year.

Jones will undoubtedly help take some of the pressure off after the Lions lost DJ Chark in free agency. Coach Dan Campbell said this week that Chark’s absence on the roster was a hole they figured to fix.

“I think you could say, ‘Man, it would be nice to find another guy that could help us out there,’” Campbell said on Tuesday. “So I would say our eyes are there. We do have eyes on that, somehow, someway. Look, we’ll miss Chark. He’s another one. He brought something to us that was a little different than the rest of them.”

Like Chark, Jones Jr. is a big-bodied receiver capable of making contested catches and gives the Lions some flexibility with their starting lineup. With Jones Jr. joining Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, and Kalif Raymond (among others), the Lions can go into the draft without a pressing need at the wideout position.