Marvin Jones is the oldest WR in the NFL and proud of it
At 33, Marvin Jones is the oldest everydown receiver in the NFL and damn proud of his accomplishment.
“That’s exciting,” the Detroit Lions wide receiver said Saturday. “I outlasted everybody from 2012, which I said I was going to do back in the day. But nah, that’s pretty cool.”
Matthew Slater, 38, was the oldest receiver to make a 53-man roster on cut day last week, according to Pro Football Focus, but Slater has one career catch — in 2011 — and primarily plays on special teams.
Jones, who turns 34 in March, is one of seven full-time receivers 31 or older still playing. Adam Thielen of the Carolina Panthers and Randall Cobb of the New York Jets are the only others to have celebrated their 33rd birthdays.
A fifth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, Jones said he came into the league determined to outperform and outlast the 22 receivers taken in front of him. Some of those players (T.Y. Hilton, Alshon Jeffery) had successful careers. Some(Justin Blackmon, A.J. Jenkins) were first-round busts. Only Hilton, a third-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts who played briefly with the Dallas Cowboys last season and was not with a team in training camp this season, has more career catches or yards.
“It’s (an accomplishment),” Jones said. “‘Cause I never think of those things, especially while I’m playing, but that’s pretty cool, for sure.”
Jones played his first four seasons with the Bengals before signing a five-year free agent deal with the Lions in 2016. He caught 289 passes during his time in Detroit, including leading the NFL in yards per catch in 2017, then spent the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Lions re-signed Jones to a one-year contract this offseason, and Jones figures to be part of their receiver rotation early in the year along with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds.
He said he doesn’t feel much different as a player now than he did 11 years ago “‘cause I do still the same things I did.”
“Did I lose a step? Probably, but I’m still fast.,” he said. “So yeah, I just take it, whatever it is, I just take it how it is and just keep doing what I do cause I still make the same plays. You turn on the film and I’m making the same type of plays.”
Jones, who has 542 catches for 7,386 yards and 58 touchdowns in his career, said he hopes to keep playing until his skills diminish to the point he can no longer be effective.
“In terms of catching and going up and getting the ball, diving, route cuts and in and out of my breaks, when that starts to go and I notice, then I’m out of here, no questions asked,” he said. “But I still feel the same when I’m doing those type of things, and I think the biggest thing for a receiver is your reaction. Can you react to a throw or the ball in a split second, and stuff like that. So as long as I still have my ball skills, I can keep playing if I want to.”
He wants to for now, and his advice to young players seeking longevity in the NFL is “just stay motivated.”
“Find something to be motivated about,” he said. “I can just look at something and be motivated to just keep going and keep trying to be my best self. So when I get on the field, I just — that’s just, it’s go time. And it doesn’t change. It’s not changing.”