GREEN BAY, Wis. — A "help wanted" spotlight being directed into the Green Bay skyline a la the Bat-Signal may have been less obvious than the message the Packers are sending to their cornerbacks this offseason.
Since March, the Packers have added four new faces to an underwhelming room whose performance at the end of the season can only be described as disappointing. They signed Benjamin St-Juste in free agency, spent second and fifth-round picks on Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson, respectively, and claimed MJ Devonshire off waivers from the Buffalo Bills last week.
A fifth cornerback joined the party on Monday.
24-year-old Marlon Jones is signing with the Packers, according to his agency, Curran Sports and Entertainment. The move gives the Packers a full 91-man roster ahead of organized team activities, which begin next Tuesday. The spot would've gone to tight end Luke Lachey, who was claimed off waivers last week from the Houston Texans, but he failed his physical after arriving in Green Bay.
Instead, the Packers are going to take a swing at a battle-tested cornerback whose remarkable story has helped fuel his path to the NFL.
A two-way player at Curtis High School, Jones stepped into the collegiate circuit as a three-star recruit. The 6'0", 190-pound Jones played four seasons at Eastern Washington—including a COVID-19-shortened freshman year in 2020—before transferring to Vanderbilt. It was a fresh start for Jones, who had served the Eagles well. He was fresh off a stellar 2023 campaign that saw him earn All-Big Sky honors for allowing just 19 receptions on 44 targets, intercepting three passes, and surrendering a career-low opposing passer rating of 49.2. Jones had a pair of pick-sixes—both of which occurred in back-to-back weeks in games against Southeastern Louisiana and UC Davis.
In February of 2024, just two months after committing to Vanderbilt, Jones and his family noticed a severely swollen lymph node on the side of his neck. Another two months later, that would snowball into what would ultimately be diagnosed as stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma—an earth-shattering revelation that would rob Jones of a budding football career.
Marlon Jones played just one season at Vanderbilt before departing for the NFL. (Photo: 247Sports)
Months upon months of treatment and chemotherapy drained Jones of every last bit of energy he had, keeping him sidelined throughout the 2024 season—his first for the Commodores—and, for all anyone knew, potentially even longer.
It wasn't until October that Jones was officially declared cancer-free.
Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, who initially kept personal matters under wraps after the diagnosis, remained in contact with Jones, as did the rest of the Commodores. Jones' teammates walked alongside him in his fight—his story of courage and perseverance helped strengthen the program's locker room.
They finished the 2024 season with a 7-6 record, but at one point, they rode a three-game winning streak throughout October and even toppled No. 1-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5. That signature win coincided with Jones ringing the bell at the hospital 10 days later as if it were a Hollywood script.
"This program will have forever changed my life," Jones told The Athletic. "It's a tight-knit team, guys love each other, guys are genuine with each other. I've seen guys get emotional around each other and be vulnerable, which is important to really grow.
"Coach Lea has been big on breaking down impurities that we have amongst ourselves, breaking down bad habits, and really forming together as one. He's done a great job of instilling that, and we're applying it to our lives."
Marlon Jones intercepts a pass in a game against Florida in 2022. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
For his final year of eligibility, Jones officially enrolled at Vanderbilt and played his first defensive snaps on Aug. 30, allowing two receptions on two targets for 20 yards in a 45-3 throttling of Charleston Southern. He would only appear in six more games for the duration of the season, finishing the year without an interception or a pass breakup for the first time in his collegiate career.
The adversity he had endured helped harden Jones' exterior. Not receiving an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine? No problem. Jones ran a 4.51 40-yard dash at Vanderbilt's pro day in March, registered a 39-inch vertical jump, a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.44, and a 10'06" broad jump.
There are going to be opportunities for Jones to stick around in Green Bay, whether he miraculously cracks the 53-man roster—it would take a tremendous preseason effort—or finds himself on the practice squad. If the Packers truly aren't as satisfied with their cornerback depth as their offseason appears to indicate, Jones will have ample chances to state his case.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 12th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com