DaQuan Steven Jones ( born December 27, 1991) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

. Jones played his first seven seasons in the NFL with the Titans before spending the 2021 season with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He signed with the Bills in 2022.

Early life

Jones was born on December 27, 1991, in

Johnson City, New York Johnson City is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 15,343 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Johnson City is in the town of Union and is a part ...

. He attended Johnson City Senior High School, where he played

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

as well as throwing the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

Recruiting

Initially projected as an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

, Jones committed to Penn State on June 28, 2009 after being recruited by Mike McQueary.

College career

After limited action in his freshman and sophomore seasons, Jones was Penn State's starting

opposite Jordan Hill in 2012, his junior season and recorded 22

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, two tackles for a loss, and a half

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

. During the subsequent offseason, Jones committed to losing weight to become quicker, and dropped 25 pounds, coming into the 2013 season at 315 pounds. In the first game of the 2013 season, Jones' work paid off, as he recorded nine tackles, three for a loss, and a sack. After the second game, Jones had already amassed 18 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, and 2 sacks. After three games, his five tackles-for-loss led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. Halfway through the season,

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called him Penn State's defensive most valuable player.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Jones was rated the number one overall defensive tackle by some analysts coming into the 2013 season. He was selected by the

in the fourth round (112th overall) of the

. In Week 17 of the 2014 season, Jones recorded his first career sack against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, tacking on four tackles including a forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

. Jones started in all 16 games in 2015 and 2016. He scored his first touchdown on January 1, 2017, after recovering a fumble in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

. In 2017, Jones started the first 12 games before suffering torn biceps and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 4, 2017. He finished the season with 31 tackles and a career-high 3.5 sacks. On March 14, 2018, Jones signed a three-year, $21 million contract extension with the Titans. On September 29, 2020, Jones was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team. He was activated on October 11. Jones finished his final season playing for Tennessee with a career-high 49 tackles.

Carolina Panthers

Jones signed a one-year contract with the

on April 20, 2021.

Buffalo Bills

Jones signed a two-year contract with the

on March 16, 2022. In Week 5 of the 2023 season against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Jones suffered a pectoral injury in the 25–20 loss, and was placed on injured reserve on October 11. He was activated on December 30, 2023. On March 12, 2024, Jones signed a two-year contract extension with the Bills.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioPenn State Nittany Lions football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, DaQuan 1991 births Living people American football defensive tackles Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from Johnson City, New York Sportspeople from Broome County, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Tennessee Titans players