Why Lions WR Marvin Jones keeps a jar of pickles in his locker
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ALLEN PARK — Guys keep all sorts of knickknacks in their lockers. Pictures of their kids. Fan mail. Notes of inspiration. SpongeBob backpacks.
But Detroit Lions receiver Marvin Jones might have the weirdest oddity of them all.
Sitting on the top shelf of his locker, right next to his shoulder pads, is a jar of pickles. And it’s not even for the pickles, either, but the juice, which he says helps fight cramps. Drinking it became a habit for him back in Cincinnati.
“I had really bad cramps a lot,” he said. “I used to drink pickle juice, and it helps. It does help, all the salt.”
Jones says the cramp issues haven’t bothered him as much in Detroit, despite the high humidity and temperatures that rose into the 90s during camp. But he always kept a jar of pickles around just in case.
“I always had it,” he said. “I didn’t know how it was going to be.”
Jones says his use of the juice actually nearly led to an endorsement deal. A pickle company wanted him as a pitchman, though he thought better of becoming known as the pickle guy.
“I’m not going to be the one who says, ‘Hey, eat these pickles! Kosher!'” he said, gesturing with his hand like a cheesy TV pitchman.
Whatever Jones is doing appears to be working. He was Detroit’s top free-agent addition, receiving a five-year, $40 million deal to pry him out of Cincinnati, and he’s become quarterback Matthew Stafford’s top target this off-season.
The Lions have said no one player will replace Calvin Johnson, though Jones seems like the wideout most ready to move into the No. 1 role. He finished with eight catches for 106 yards during the preseason, which led the first-unit offense, and showed off some of that fancy footwork along the sidelines.
“Obviously when you go and spend however many months this far, the repetition is a key part of getting a connection (with Stafford),” Jones said. “And I think we have that.”
