Buffalo Rumblings
After a down year, could the Bills release their veteran one-tech?
For as long as head coach Sean McDermott has been with the Buffalo Bills, the most important position on the entire defense has arguably been the nose tackle, or one-tech defensive lineman. That’s the person who occupies multiple gaps, keeping the linebackers clean and his fellow defensive linemen in one-gap situations.
Have the Bills always had a great player at that spot? No, they have not. Just look at the Star Lotulelei years for evidence of that. However, the team struck gold when they signed a veteran to replace Lotulelei a few years ago. Buffalo’s defense functioned at a much higher level with this 2022 free agent signee on the field than it did with him off of it.
Age catches up to us all, however, and this player seemed to start that decline last season. Will the Bills retain his services? Can he perform like he did before suffering a serious injury in 2023?
In today’s installment of our “90 players in 90 days” series, we discuss Buffalo’s one-tech defensive tackle.
Name: DaQuan Jones
Number: 92
Position: DT
Height/Weight: 6’4”, 320 pounds
Age: 33 (34 on 12/27/2025)
Experience/Draft: 12; selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round (No. 112 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft
College: Penn State
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 3/16/2022
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Jones enters the final year of his two-year contract extension, which he signed prior to the start of the 2024 NFL season. That deal is worth $16 million overall. For the 2025 NFL season, Jones carries a cap hit of $9.408 million if he makes the 53-man roster. If Buffalo releases him before Week 1, they will carry a dead-cap charge of $7.632 million.
2024 Recap: After an injury-plagued 2023 season, in which Jones spent time on Injured Reserve thanks to a torn pectoral muscle, it was a welcome sign to see the big veteran appear in 16 of Buffalo’s 17 regular-season games and all three of their playoff contests, as well. The only game where Jones didn’t play, Buffalo’s Week 18 matchup against the New England Patriots, was meaningless, and he sat due to coach’s decision and not injury.
Statistically, Jones did not have a great year, as he totaled 23 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and one pass knockdown while playing half of the team’s snaps on defense. However, in fairness to Jones, it’s hard to quantify a player’s impact statistically at the position he plays. Jones had six tackles in Buffalo’s three playoff games, which placed him one behind both Ed Oliver and Austin Johnson among Bills’ defensive tackles in the postseason.
Positional outlook: Jones is one of nine defensive tackles currently in camp. Ed Oliver, DeWayne Carter, T.J. Sanders, Zion Logue, Marcus Harris, Larry Ogunjobi, Casey Rogers, and Deone Walker are the others.
2025 Offseason: Jones is healthy and participating in offseason work to date.
2025 Season outlook: Only...
