Getty Marvin Jones warms up catching passes for the Lions in 2019.
The Detroit Lions will be without veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after he did not travel with the team and was ruled out for “personal” reasons.
The Lions announced the move on Saturday, after Jones had been able to participate in practice during the week. The team had made some moves in their wide receiver corps in recent weeks, including the early-than-expected return of second-year receiver Jameson Williams after the league cut his gambling suspension short.
The decision on Jones sparked some concern among fans, especially after the team did not elaborate on the reason why he was unable to travel. Jones had not been listed on the original injury report on Friday, making the decision a surprise.
Lions Lose Veteran Leader
Jones, the second-oldest receiver in the NFL this season after the recent signing of Julio Jones, has not had a significant impact on the field for the Lions, making just five catches for a total of 35 yards.
Detroit Lions WR Marvin Jones is not traveling with the team to Baltimore and is OUT for Sunday’s game.
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press noted, the Lions are otherwise at full strength in their receiving corps.
“The Lions will have their top four receivers on the field Sunday for just the second time this season: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Jameson Williams,” Birkett wrote. “Rookie wideout Antoine Green has played as a backup this season.”
Sunday’s game against the Ravens would have been the first for Williams had the NFL stuck to its original six-game suspension for his gambling infraction. The league changed its penalties mid-season, giving harsher suspensions for players who bet on NFL games but lighter ones for players who bet on any other sport.
Williams has appeared in two games this season, making four receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown.
Lions Get Good News on Offense
The Lions did get a bit of good news on offense for this week, with rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs being cleared to play. Veteran back David Montgomery had already been ruled out, and Craig Reynolds was listed on the injury report as well, but head coach Dan Campbell said Gibbs was in line to return to the lineup.
“He looks good,” Campbell said on Friday, via AtoZ Sports. “Yep, I think he’s he’s gonna be a go. He looked pretty good yesterday.”
Campbell added that Gibbs may not be ready for a full workload just yet.
“Yeah, I think you know, certainly I think he’s gonna need to take the load of it,” the Lions coach said. “We’re just gonna have to see where he’s at. You know? I’d like to say we want to be careful with him but the reality of it is we need him. So we’ll go as far as he can take us here, trying to be as smart as we can but he’s got to go. And he’s ready.”
The Lions will be without some other key players for Sunday’s game, including guard Jonah Jackson, who was ruled out after not practicing at all during the week.