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Detroit Lions Land Wide Receiver D.J. Chark Jr.

The Detroit Lions have signed a free-agent wide receiver to join Josh Reynolds and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

John Maakaron

The Detroit Lions were expected to be big spenders for one of the talented free agent wide receivers to hit the market. 

Detroit has reached a contract agreement with former Jacksonville Jaguars wideout D.J. Chark Jr. 

The deal is expected to be worth one-year and $10 million, according to the NFL Network.

The 25-year-old wideout was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round (61st overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.

In four NFL seasons, Chark Jr. has amassed 147 receptions for 2,042 yards and 15 touchdowns. 

Detroit's offense lacked explosiveness for the majority of the season. 

The addition of Josh Reynolds alleviated some of the issue, as quarterback Jared Goff was much more comfortable taking chances deep once Reynolds arrived. 

Still, Detroit's offense finished 2021 averaging 6.6 yards per pass attempt, which tied for 24th in the league. 

"We weren't nearly as explosive, or had the yards per attempt, that we would like to get to truly unlock what we want to be able to do on offense," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told reporters at the scouting combine. 

He also acknowledged that adding a skilled wideout to the roster, capable of winning one-on-one matchups regularly, would provide a boost to several areas of the offense.

One of the biggest areas the team struggled in was inside the red zone.

"That was another thing that we brought up is how many times did we really throw it outside the numbers when we got down there tight?", Johnson said. "It was probably below league average. That's something we need to look at and need to continue to explore."

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

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