WR Jones leaves Lions to tend to family matters

DETROIT — Veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. announced Tuesday on Instagram that he’s “stepping away” from the Detroit Lions “to take care of personal family matters.”

In a procedural move after his announcement, the Lions announced they had released Jones, who has five catches for 35 yards in six games this season.

Jones, 33, didn’t travel with the team for its loss at the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday for noninjury-related personal matters.

“I just want to say that I have so much love and respect for the Ford Family, the city of Detroit, my teammates and coaches,” he wrote in his post. “To be brief, I am stepping away from the team to take care of personal family matters. Although this was no easy decision, I cannot be the person/player that I need to be for this team as well as tend to my family from afar.”

“This organization has been amazing showing love and support for myself and my family over the years and this time is no different. For that I am appreciative. To my brothers and coaches, I will be rooting for you every step of the way! This is the year! Go get it!!!”

Following Detroit’s 38-6 loss at Baltimore, coach Dan Campbell said it was “hard to say on that right now,” when asked if Jones’ absence would be long term.

“It’s just all I can tell you it’s a personal issue,” Campbell said.

This season marked a return to Detroit for Jones, who had spent the previous two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars after four seasons (2016-20) with the Lions.

He has 547 receptions for 7,421 yards and 58 touchdowns in 151 games over his 12-season career, which began with the Cincinnati Bengals, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 draft.

He posted his only 1,000-yard season in 2017 with the Lions, when he caught 61 passes for 1,101 yards and led the NFL with 18.0 yards per catch.