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

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

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of the

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(NFL). He was drafted by the

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in the fourth round of the

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. He played

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Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

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 Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

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

Mike McQueary Michael Jacob McQueary (born October 10, 1974) is a former American football assistant coach for the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) under head coach Joe Paterno until late in the 2011 football season. McQueary was identified as a ...

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 a half sack. 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 (TFL), and 2 sacks. After three games, his five TFL led the Big Ten. 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 drafted 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 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/

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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

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

on April 20, 2021.

Buffalo Bills

Jones signed a two-year contract with the

on March 16, 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Tennessee Titans 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 Players of American football from New York (state) Tennessee Titans players