A.J. Brown’s high-ankle sprain and subsequent trip to injured reserve created an open spot on the New England Patriots’ 53-man roster. They could have opted for another wide receiver to fill it, but instead chose to bring in a veteran defensive lineman: DaQuan Jones was signed to a one-year contract over the weekend.
Jones has a lot of positive attributes. He is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons and a combined 179 games, and at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds should help the Patriots shore up their interior defensive line.
He also has worked with Mike Vrabel before, and the Patriots head coach seems to have high hopes for the 34-year-old.
“We’ve had some experience with him in Tennessee,” Vrabel said about Jones on Monday. “We got to see him most recently in Buffalo. He’s a veteran interior player that I think still has some good snaps ahead of him.”
Having played college football at Penn State, Jones started his career as a fourth-round draft pick with the Titans in 2014. He spent seven seasons with the organization, including the final three under Vrabel. Later, he also played for the Panthers and the Bills, accumulating a combined 394 tackles and 21.5 sacks since entering the league.
Despite his experience and proven qualities as a big-bodied disruptor in the middle, Jones remained unsigned since entering free agency in March. He did visit with the Patriots in mid-August but was not signed at the time — a possibly deliberate decision: a vested veterans such as Jones being on the Week 1 roster would guarantee his salary for the remainder of the season.
And so, instead of signing before the season opener, he signed with the team afterwards. According to the man himself, that decision was not a difficult one.
“When Mike calls, it’s kind of hard to say no to him,” he told Mike Reiss of ESPN.