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WR Marvin Jones to Sign with Lions and Join Jared Goff

Jones and Goff are both Cal alumni although they were never teammates. Jones had his best seasons in Detroit
Jake Curtis|
WR Marvin Jones to Sign with Lions and Join Jared Goff
WR Marvin Jones to Sign with Lions and Join Jared Goff

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Detroit Lions

Former Cal star wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. is expected to sign a one-year $3 million free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN, and that would make him a prime target of former Cal quarterback Jared Goff.

Jones and Goff did not play together at Cal.  Jones was wideout for the Golden Bears from 2008 through 2011, while Goff became Cal's starting quarterback as a true freshman in 2013.

Jones, 33, caught 119 passes for 1,361 yards and seven touchdowns the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He led the team in receptions (73), receiving yards (832) and receiving touchdowns (four) in 2021, but his numbers dipped to 46 catches for 529 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.  

However, he was part of one of the biggest plays of the Jaguars' 2022 season when he caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence with 14 seconds left against the  Baltimore Ravens. The Jaguars won the game 28-27 on a 2-point conversion.

With Detroit, Jones presumbly will replace DJ Clark, who left the Lions as a free agent and signed with Carolina Panthers.

Jones played five seasons with the Lions before signing with the Jaguars, and he had his best seasons as a pro in Detroit. In 2017, he had 61 catches for 1,101 yards, nine touchdowns and a league-leading 18.0 yards per reception. In 2020, his final season with the Lions, Jones had 76 catches for 978 yards and nine touchdowns.

Goff is coming off perhaps his best season as a pro.  He completed 65.1% of his passes with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was particularly effective late in the season, recording 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions over the final nine games. The Lions went 7-2 in that span and finished the season with a 9-8 record. Goff finished seventh in the NFL in passer rating.

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Cover photo of Marvin Jones Jr. is by Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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