DaQuan Steven Jones ( born December 27, 1991) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. Jones has also played for the Carolina Panthers.

Early life Jones was born on December 27, 1991, in Johnson City, New York. He attended Johnson City Senior High School, where he played football and basketball as well as throwing the shot put.

Recruiting

Initially projected as an offensive guard, 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 defensive tackle opposite Jordan Hill in 2012, his junior season and recorded 22 tackles, two tackles for a loss, and 0.5 sacks.

During the subsequent offseason, Jones committed to losing weight to become quicker, and lost , coming into the 2013 season at . In the first game of the season, his 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, five tackles for a loss, and two sacks. After three games, his five tackles-for-loss led the Big Ten Conference. Halfway through the season, ESPN.com called Jones 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 Tennessee Titans in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft. In Week 17 of the 2014 season, Jones recorded his first career sack against the Indianapolis Colts, tacking on four tackles including a forced fumble.

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.

In 2017, Jones started the first 12 games before suffering torn biceps and was placed on injured reserve 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/COVID-19 list by the team. He was activated on October 11. Jones finished his final season in Tennessee with a career-high 49 tackles.

Carolina Panthers Jones signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers on April 20, 2021. He started all 17 games in 2021, recording 38 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.

Buffalo Bills

Jones signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills on March 16, 2022.

In Week 5 of the 2023 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 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.

New England Patriots On September 11, 2026, Jones signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.

NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles 2014 TEN 7 1 8 5 3 1 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0 0 — 0 2015 TEN 16 16 45 25 20 3 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 2016 TEN 16 16 26 17 9 2 3 1.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 1 2017 TEN 12 12 31 19 12 4 5 3.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2018 TEN 16 16 34 20 14 4 5 0.0 0 1 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2019 TEN 16 16 42 21 21 0 2 1.0 0 3 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2020 TEN 16 16 49 29 20 4 6 2.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0 0 — 0 2021 CAR 17 17 38 19 19 1 6 1.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0 0 — 0 2022 BUF 16 16 38 22 16 3 11 2.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 2023 BUF 7 7 16 8 8 4 5 2.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2024 BUF 16 16 23 11 12 5 7 2.5 0 1 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2025 BUF 12 12 22 11 11 3 8 3.0 0 2 1 1 1.0 1 0 1 0 0 — 0 Career 167 161 372 207 165 34 63 20.0 0 7 1 1 1.0 1 0 4 3 0 0.0 1

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles 2019 TEN 3 3 6 2 4 0 3 0.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2020 TEN 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2022 BUF 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2023 BUF 2 2 3 0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2024 BUF 3 3 6 3 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2025 BUF 2 2 3 1 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 Career 12 12 22 8 14 1 5 1.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 — 0

References

External links

New England Patriots bio Penn State Nittany Lions football bio