Bengals reportedly offered Marvin Jones a deal in range with Lions' offer

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to re-sign two of their top three free agents on Wednesday, the first day of NFL free agency and the new league year. The one player in that top three who they couldn't lock down is wide receiver Marvin Jones.

Bengals.com is reporting that Jones turned down a deal "in range" with what the Lions offered him so that he could see more targets thrown his way.

Initial reports had the Jones deal at $8 million per year, a number that the Bengals believed to be comfortable with and were in range with it. But they couldn't offer him the same amount of chances as a potential No. 1 target now teamed with Golden Tate and not Green and Eifert. They were so in sync with the numbers that they thought they were close to a deal Tuesday night.

That's pretty disappointing to hear, but, as is the case with everything in free agency, we'll likely never know the exact truth.

With A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert on the Bengals, it's true, Jones would not have the opportunity anytime soon to be the No. 1 receiver on the team. But, at the same time, the Bengals are consistent playoff contenders and Jones has succeeded with the team, even if it's not in a WR1 role.

Jones' deal with the Lions is reportedly worth $40 million with $20 million in guarantees, $17M fully guaranteed.