Who Should I Start? Marvin Jones or Alec Pierce

Wednesday, October 25, 11:01 AM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. announced on Tuesday that he was stepping away from the team due to personal family matters. Jones was then released by the team. "To be brief, I am stepping away from the team to take care of personal family matters," Jones wrote in part in an Instagram post. "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." The veteran pass-catcher did not travel with the team to Baltimore in Week 7 and had very little production to begin the season, catching five passes for 35 yards on 10 targets. The 33-year-old didn't mention anything about retirement. The former fifth-rounder has played in 151 career games and has 547 catches for 7,421 yards and 58 touchdowns. With Jones out of the picture, Kalif Raymond could have a bigger role as wideout depth in Detroit.

Monday, April 29, 2:23 PM

After the addition of rookie wide receiver Adonai Mitchell in the second round of this year's NFL draft, Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce will compete with Mitchell on the outside for the No. 3 role this season. Michael Pittman Jr, who signed a three-year, $70 million contract extension this offseason, will continue to see the lion's share of the targets, with Josh Downs manning the slot as the No. 2 option. The 23-year-old Pierce only had 32 catches for 514 yards and two touchdowns last year and will now be battling a much more dynamic pass-catcher for a role in the Colts' offense in 2024. Not only is Mitchell a superior athlete, but his production (55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023) speaks for itself.