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The Detroit Lions have made a habit of reunions this offseason, and perhaps the most interesting the team decided upon was with wide receiver Marvin Jones.
Jones, who starred with the team from 2016-2020, walked in free agency a few years back, signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His unexpected return has given the Lions fanbase the return of another player they cheered for in the past this offseason to rally around.
Like Jalen Reeves-Maybin as well as Graham Glasgow before him, Jones is returning to a place where he once called home and has already starred to try and help the Lions over the hump.
In the end, Jones is very fired up to return. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, April 5, he admitted he didn’t know if a comeback would be in the cards, but once it was, he quickly began to get excited, especially when looking at the upward trajectory of the team he is now joining.
“If you would have told me a few months ago that I’d be coming (back) after moving back west I’d be like ‘ooh.’ But it just called me. I love this city. I love everything that has to do with it obviously,” Jones told the media. “When you see (this) team, and I’ve played against the team, you know it’s different. The organization is different in terms of the culture and stuff like that. It’s a team that obviously has done some great things and can continue to do great things and make a push, so that was definitely intriguing.”
As Jones explained, when looking at the Lions, he not only saw a team that offered him a soft landing and homecoming, but a squad that was all-in on him as a player and all-in as an organization for the future. That helped him over the top.
“I think they’re in it from the jump and I always had something in me that was like ‘I think I could be going back to Detroit I don’t know, we’ll see.’ So I’m definitely excited to be here, see a lot of familiar faces. It just feels like home,” he said.
The pull of home, as well as being a part of a team that he can see becoming part of the upswing of the NFL has given Jones a chance to come home. He can now begin to write his second chapter with the Lions in 2023.
Marvin Jones Excited to Finally Play With Jared Goff
Chemistry between a quarterback and wide receiver is always key, and as he returns to Detroit, Jones is going to have a good chance to have that connection fairly instantly with Jared Goff.
Both Jones and Goff share the same alma mater in the University of California, and while their time did not quite overlap there to place them on the field together, the duo is more than familiar with each other already and has connected plenty before.
“Every time we see each other we talk, just because he went to Cal and all that good stuff. Every time we see each other, play against each other or whatever, we talk,” Jones told the media. “I was just telling the story when he was a freshman, he came in at Cal. It was one of the only times I actually went back. I saw him and I was like, ‘man I wish you were my quarterback. If you were my quarterback while I was here man, I’ll tell you.’ I was saying stuff like that and hey, come full circle. It’s probably like 15 years ago, wide-eyed kid.”
While Goff and Jones never played together while at Cal, each are Golden Bears royalty in the NFL, and enjoyed sterling college careers. Goff, the former first-overall pick in 2016, enjoyed a fantastic career in college. He totaled 12,195 yards and 96 touchdowns from 2013-2015. He was a first-team All-PAC 12 player in the 2015 season.
Jones, meanwhile, posted 2,270 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns from 2008-2011. With these numbers, it’s easy to see how dynamic the connection could have been in college of Jones was just a few years younger.
While the duo will have the typical chemistry to create between a quarterback and a new wide receiver, they already have a very solid ground floor with which to operate given their relationship.
Marvin Jones’ Career Stats & Highlights
As he returns to Detroit, Jones is bringing some definite production in the league with him even as he has aged and will become one of the oldest players on the team’s young roster.
During his time in the league, Jones has been a reliable pass catcher after breaking in with the Cincinnati Bengals as a former fifth-round pick in 2012 out of California.
After signing with the Lions in the 2016 offseason as a free agent, Jones enjoyed some very productive seasons with the Lions, posting a total of 4,296 yards and 36 touchdowns with the Lions in five seasons. After signing with the Jaguars in 2021, things did not go as productively for the pass catcher, given just 1,361 yards, seven touchdowns and 119 receptions in Jacksonville.
Jones has posted a total of 7,386 yards and 58 touchdowns in the league. At 33, nobody would confuse him with a long-term option for the team. Jones does like Detroit, however, and will offer the Lions some major stability at a position on the field where they need some veteran help.
The return of Jones is not only exciting for the player, but the franchise as well. He was a very dynamic talent when he did play in Detroit, and will now have a chance to be a part of a brighter future with the team.
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Lions WR Marvin Jones Reveals Why Detroit Return Was Easy Choice