Getty Christian Jones celebrates a fumble recovery.
The Detroit Lions never shy away from keeping the players who excel on the field in their scheme, and they have committed to doing that once again.
Detroit signed linebacker Christian Jones to a two year contract extension through 2021 according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
The #Lions have signed LB Christian Jones to a two-year extension through 2021, per source. Jones has started every game of the Matt Patricia era, and now is in line to start a lot more.
Jones came to Detroit two offseasons ago from the Chicago Bears where he excelled to start his career. Sine joining the Lions, Jones has been one of the more consistent pieces the team has on defense.
In 1.5 years with the team, Jones has put up 97 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 passes defended and 1 fumble recovery. Better yet, he has been durable and yet to miss a game, playing in all 23 games he has been slated to with the Lions thus far.
Christian Jones Was Excited for 2019
The Lions had high hopes coming into the season this year, and thus far their defense has left plenty to be desired. Jones, though, was excited to see where the team went coming into this season when he spoke prior to the regular season and training camp.
“Being in the same scheme, hopefully we can just build upon what we did last season. We got a lot of familiar faces back, so obviously that’s going to work in our benefit,” Jones said when meeting with the media prior to the start of the season.
According to Jones, chemistry is still being built on the defense.
“We got some new additions, we got a lot of familiar faces who are still here. Obviously the second year in the same scheme, you can only get better. The goal is to just bring those guys along, the new faces. We’re still in the early stages just building the chemistry with that. It will have to translate when we get on the field,” he said.
As Jones said, the goal is for everyone to keep learning and improving, something that can be said even as the Lions have gotten into a new season.
“Being on this team we got some guys who have been in this system and been in the league for a while. It’s just a learning experience, you have to keep learning and building, Sometimes you have to humble yourself. We had a pretty good year last year, we just want to keep building on it and get as better as we can,” Jones said.
Now that he will be around for the next few years, Jones can count on being one of the guys to help continue to show the others who get added into the defense the way to go. He will also be rewarded for sticking around and playing well for the team.
Next Lions Extensions
While Jones seemingly came out of the blue with his new deal, the Lions have plenty of other players they will have to think about in terms of extensions. Cornerback Darius Slay, wideout Kenny Golladay and defensive tackle Damon Harrison are just some of the cases that will come up in the next handful of years that Detroit will have to decide on.
From here on out, there will be debate as to what the Lions do next. But for now, Jones will be remaining with the team.