NFL free agency update: DaQuan Jones back to Titans

The Tennessee Titans wisely bring back defensive lineman DaQuan Jones on a multi-year extension in his unrestricted free agency.

Though the Tennessee Titans have switched coaching staffs this offseason, there is reason to believe that they will again contend for a playoff spot in the AFC. Yes, they play in arguably the toughest division in the conference in the improved AFC South. However, they will be getting back a big, run-stuffing monster in free agency by retaining defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.

Within the first two hours of free agency, the Titans’ official website confirmed that they will be brining back the four-year veteran on a multi-year extension. Tennessee had initially drafted Jones in the fourth round out of Penn State in the 2014 NFL Draft. He was coming off his best season to date, but one that was cut short due to injury.

Jones had a career high 3.5 sacks, but only appeared in 12 games for the 2017 Titans. Tennessee would earn the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and would upset the No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs on the road in the wild card round. The Titans would however get routed by the New England Patriots on the road in the divisional round a week later, leading to head coach Mike Mularkey and his entire staff being ousted.

Tennessee did hire former Patriots linebacker and rival Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel this offseason as its next head coach. Vrabel specializes in maximizing play in the defensive front-seven. While Jones shined under the ageless Dick LeBeau in 2017, maybe he takes that next step on this new deal under Vrabel’s tutelage?

Contract Details

Details of Jones’ contract have not been released, though we do know that it is a multi-year deal and that he will stay in the Titans organization. Clearly, the Titans have tabbed Jones a building block for them defensively going forward. It will certainly be worth more than what he played on under his rookie deal stemming back to 2014.

National Reaction

https://twitter.com/Titans/status/974035227256467456

Next: 2018 NFL free agency tracker

Grade

Though the coaching staff changed hands, bringing back a familiar face on the rise in Jones is an excellent move. He will be 26 years old in his fifth NFL season out of Penn State. Regardless of how much money this deal merits, odds are that he’ll be in his late 20s before this deal expires and he exits his prime. Tennessee was able to keep a promising run stuffer in-house despite the switch of coaching staffs. This is a good move for both parties involved.

Grade: A