Packers sign rookie whose powerful journey through adversity earned him another chance in football and life
Green Bay added cornerback Marlon Jones, an undrafted rookie out of Vanderbilt who won a battle with stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2024.
Football is not close to the biggest challenge Marlon Jones had to face. After playing five college seasons at Eastern Washington, the defensive back agreed to transfer to Vanderbilt. However, stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma was in his way. He recovered from it, played last season at Vanderbilt, and is now going to the NFL.
Two years after his diagnosis, he’s now a member of the Green Bay Packers. On Monday, the Packers signed the cornerback to a standard three-year, undrafted contract.
Real life challenges
Marlon Jones had to go through months of chemotherapy treatments to get better. Eventually, he did.
“Of course, it crushed me,” Jones told The Athletic about the initial reaction. “I was sad. I was scared. But at no point did I think I was going to lose my life. That’s a credit to my faith, I just believed and trusted in God’s plan. I knew He didn’t cause me to have this, but He was going to use it for good. The only thing I was really worried about was football.”
Last season, Jones played nine games at Vanderbilt, starting one of them. He had nine total tackles.
CB depth situation
The Packers’ CB room already had Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Kamal Hadden, Shemar Bartholomew, and Jaylin Simpson. This offseason, the front office added Benjamin St-Juste and MJ Devonshire in free agency, plus Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson in the draft.
That means it may be hard for Marlon Jones to ultimately make the 53-man roster. On the other hand, that’s just another challenge for the young player — and it’s not even close to the most difficult he’s faced in his life.
The fact is that the Packers are adding a player who’s willing to battle for life and for football. And that’s a great inspiration for the entire team.