Lions add receiver who was key to their last playoff run

Jones first signed with Detroit in 2016 and spent five seasons with the organization. He played the past two seasons in Jacksonville.

To an extent, Detroit is likely hoping history repeats itself with the Jones signing. The Lions made the playoffs in 2016, their last postseason appearance.

Per OddsChecker, they are the favorite to win the NFC North at +150. While that 2016 team lost in the wild-card round, these Lions should have their eyes set on more in a wide-open NFC.

Detroit (+1200) has the fourth-best chances of winning the conference, per OddsChecker.

The front office also added defensive backs Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and CJ Gardner-Johnson in free agency to help shore up one of the league's worst pass defenses a season ago.

The Lions were already a well-oiled machine on offense prior to Jones' signing, and he gives the team another option for QB Jared Goff. The team returns wideouts Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

St. Brown led Detroit with 106 receptions, 1,161 yards and six touchdowns last season, while Williams was the team's first-round pick in the 2022 draft. He played only 78 offensive snaps as he recovered from an ACL tear suffered in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Jones was drafted 166th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons in Cincinnati, missing his third year with an ankle injury. In his first year in Detroit, he was fourth on the team in receptions (55) but second in yards (930) while also adding four touchdowns as the organization reached the postseason for just the third time this century. 

In five seasons with the Lions, Jones has 4,296 yards, ninth all-time on the franchise's receiving yards list. His 36 receiving touchdowns are the third-most in franchise history.