Tennessee Titans defensive lineman DaQuan Jones is going into the 2020 season on a contract year, but if it was up to him, he’d remain with the team for as long as possible.
Jones, who is the longest-tenured Titans defensive player, spoke to the media on Friday via a Zoom call, and while he expressed his desire to stay in Tennessee, the place he calls home, he doesn’t exactly know what his future holds.
“I’m not really sure, but I would love to stay here. Tennessee is my home,” Jones said. “With the whole deal, that’s something my agent and the team will talk about, discuss and all I can do is show up every day and continue to grind.”
Jones was drafted by the Titans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft and is in the final year of a three-year, $21 million deal that has worked out well for Tennessee.
The 28-year-old became a starter in his second season and has gradually gotten better each year. In fact, 2019 was arguably his best season, as he finished with a top-30 Pro Football Focus grade among interior defensive linemen.
Even before he suits up in 2020, Jones has more than earned himself the right to get another contract from the Titans. On a normal year, he might have gotten an extension prior to this season, but this is not a normal year.
The Titans, like every other team in the NFL, are preparing for a decrease in the salary cap in 2021, which could go as low as $175 million depending on how much revenue is lost from fans being unable to attend games in 2020. To compare, the salary cap was set at $198.2 million this year.
General manager Jon Robinson has expressed hesitation about giving out extensions before knowing what the future holds financially, which could hurt Jones’ chances of being locked up before he hits the open market.
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