One day after receiver and return man Jamal Agnew agreed to terms with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Marvin Jones is following his Detroit Lions teammate south. According to the NFL Network, Jones has agreed to a two-year deal with the Jaguars.
Jones, who signed with the Lions in 2016 after Calvin Johnson’s retirement, is coming off a productive five-year stretch in Detroit. Jones appeared in 69 games with the franchise, hauling in 289 passes for 4,296 yards and 36 touchdowns. All three of those marks rank top-10 in franchise history, with only Johnson and Herman Moore catching more scores.
After last season, Jones, 31, sounded as if joining a contender was a priority. Instead, he’ll join the upstart Jaguars, who had the NFL’s worst record in 2020, but have the cap space and draft equity to facilitate a rapid turnaround under first-year coach Urban Meyer.
“I think before, my priorities were basically to go somewhere where there was a team that I could help get over the hump,” Jones said in December. “And I feel like early on, I was an aid in doing that, as well as getting opportunities to get some throws my way and prove that I’m one of the good ones in the league, which I think I’ve done.
“Obviously, this process might be different than it was when I got my (last) contract, but I think it’s still pretty much the same,” Jones continued. “You look at different teams, you look at the needs of the teams. Maybe this time around you look for different things in terms of what you want and how I want to finish my career. I think all those things are pretty much the same as what I did last time, but this time, it’ll be more about other things.”
In Jacksonville, Jones joins a young, talented receiver corps led by former Pro Bowler D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault, a second-round pick a year ago.
Jones also will reconnect with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who served as Detroit’s interim coach to close out the 2020 season after Matt Patricia was fired.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers