Tag: DaQuan Jones

Panthers CB Donte Jackson on secondary: “We can be dominant”

Panthers CB Donte Jackson on secondary: “We can be dominant”

Carolina Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson has never minced words over the three years we’ve come to know him. So the ones he put out there on Wednesday shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“We can be dominant. We can be dominant, man,” Jackson confidently said when asked about the team’s additions at the corner position. “We have a group that not only are we fighting hard to learn the scheme and have the scheme down pat, we’re also fighting hard to be consistent and fighting hard to work hard on our detail and our craft. That’s the one thing we’ve been holding the group accountable for. Make sure we get our technique, make sure we get our detail work in.”

Jackson also alluded to the growth of the defense as a whole, stating the talent at linebacker and along the defensive line will only make the secondary’s job that much easier. The front office has inked proven veteran names such as Haason Reddick, Denzel Perryman, DaQuan Jones and Morgan Fox this offseason to juice up the group.

“For the team, especially with the front seven like we have, I think that this corner and this secondary group can be really, really special, man. I think we have all the pieces. We have the IQs in the backend, we have the physicality, we have the speed. It’s just gonna be all about detailing and coming in and just trying to be consistent and working.”

This might’ve been a stretch for anyone in the organization, let alone Jackson, to say about this unit last season. A year ago today, the Panthers secondary was almost exclusively filled up by rookies and practice squad-caliber players.

With an extra 12 months of improvement for their younger guys has, again, come some considerable reinforcements. Bringing on rookies Jaycee Horn and Keith Taylor as well as free agents A.J. Bouye and Rashaan Melvin has helped give Carolina a nice facelift as they continue their rebuilding process.

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Panthers DT DaQuan Jones nails the Tim Tebow deal in a tweet

Here’s what Panthers defensive tackle DaQan Jones had to say about the deal.

Tim Tebow is back in the NFL after a long layoff commenting on college football and playing AAA. The twist is that the Jaguars are signing him as a tight end rather than a quarterback. Everything Tebow does is news, so everyone has an opinion.

While Tebow has made a living out of proving people wrong, his connection with Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer is clearly a huge factor, here. Meyer coached Tebow at Florida when he rose to fame by winning two national championships as their starting QB. Here’s what Panthers defensive tackle DaQuan Jones had to say about the deal.

Right on the money.

While Jacksonville could use more help at tight end, there are still some good ones on the market and the idea that Tebow is more worthy of a roster spot than any of them is absurd on its face.

Signing Tebow feels motivated by a cynical instinct to sell tickets rather than putting the best team on the field. Naturally, that will rub a lot of players the wrong way.

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DaQuan Jones says goodbye to Titans in social media post

Jones was a class act during his seven-year tenure in Nashville.

Former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman DaQuan Jones has said goodbye to the team with a social media post after signing with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.

Jones, who signed a one-year deal worth $4.05 million deal with Carolina, spent his first seven seasons with the Titans after being selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft and was a class act the entire way.

The Penn State product was a starter for six of those seasons and provided a consistent, steady hand upfront for the franchise and was among the longest-tenured Titans before moving on this offseason.

On Thursday, Jones took to Instagram to say goodbye to the Titans:

“I’ve been beyond blessed to be able to call Tennessee home the last 7Yrs . just want to thank Mrs Amy Adam’s and the @titans organization! For taking a chance on a young man from Johnson city NY! NASHVILLE will always be home but Charlotte! What it do baby ! I’m so ecstatic for this next chapter With the @panthers #keeppounding.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN8rJiNMUr4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Titans now have a hole to fill in the middle of their defensive line at nose tackle. We recently suggested some potential options the Titans could explore, which you can check out here.

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6 options Titans could explore to replace DaQuan Jones

The Titans could look to free agency, the draft, or in-house to replace DaQuan Jones.

The Tennessee Titans officially have a void in the middle of their defensive line after nose tackle DaQuan Jones signed with the Carolina Panthers recently.

Jones, who received a one-year, $4.05 million deal, spent his first seven NFL seasons in Nashville, providing the Titans with a consistent, solid player who was always a class act. He won’t be easily replaced in more ways than one.

The good news is the Titans will now have an opportunity to further upgrade their pass-rush, an area where Jones didn’t excel during his time with Tennessee.

With the 2021 NFL draft upcoming, and with free agency ongoing, the Titans do still have some options at their disposal to replace Jones. Trades are also another avenue general manager Jon Robinson can take.

It’s important to note that newly-signed defensive lineman Denico Autry has the ability to play up the middle, which means the Titans don’t necessarily have to find a prototypical nose tackle, giving the team some flexibility.

Here’s a look at six options the Titans could explore.

Titans slated to get comp pick after DaQuan Jones signs with Panthers

The Titans are now in the green in the compensatory pick formula.

The Tennessee Titans are now slated to get a compensatory pick in 2022 after former defensive lineman DaQuan Jones signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jones will make $4.05 million with the Panthers in 2021, all of which is guaranteed — and so ends Jones’ seven-year stint in Nashville where he was one of the longest-tenured Titans.

Prior to his signing with the Panthers, the Titans had broken even in the compensatory pick formula, but are now in the green and stand to get a fourth-round selection added to their list of picks next year.

Over the Cap’s Nick Korte explains (note: in the tweet below he means Corey Davis, not Hunter Henry):

In short, the Titans have lost more compensatory-pick-eligible free agents than they have gained this offseason, leading to their current situation.

Of course, this can change if the Titans go ahead and sign another free agent for a sizable amount of money before April 27. Right now, the contract Jonnu Smith signed with the New England Patriots puts them over the top.

If nothing changes, the Titans will be getting a compensatory pick for the second straight year after being awarded an extra third-round selection in 2021. In all, Tennessee has nine picks in the upcoming draft.

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Analysis: Panthers’ offseason urgency shows new front office has their eye on the ball

The Panthers are expected to sign former Titans defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, according to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network. 

The Panthers are expected to sign former Titans defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, according to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network.

A 99-game veteran at this level, Jones helps fill one of the team’s most critical personnel needs. Losing Efe Obada and releasing Kawann Short and Zach Kerr had left the team extremely thin along the interior of their defensive line. Jones is a run-stopping tackle who should help fill the void left by those losses. More importantly, signing Jones represents another milestone acquisition in what’s become a clear pattern for the organization this offseason.

Whereas former general manager Marty Hurney appeared to be somewhat slow on the draw, these Panthers have been far more active than any offseason in recent memory under the direction of head coach Matt Rhule and new GM Scott Fitterer.

The most important move that the front office has made thus far was when they used the franchise tag on their star right tackle Taylor Moton. Allowing Moton to test the open market might have been devastating for an offensive line that could have turned over four starters this year. Instead, the Panthers kept their best OL in the fold, sending a message that they’re serious about maintaining and upgrading a roster in dire need of improvement.

Since the Moton tag was announced, Carolina has been as busy as any team in the NFL. In free agency, they have signed a series of players to mostly team-friendly one and two-year deals. Some of their best hits include adding Haason Reddick and Denzel Perryman to their front seven at a pittance, as well as tight end Dan Arnold – also at a bargain – to boost what were some abysmal red zone numbers last year.

There have been some missteps. Most notably, the early additions of OL Pat Elflein and Cameron Erving will likely turn sour, but they’re also the exceptions to the rule. Generally speaking, this front office has hit the right notes.

This new-look Panthers regime has also been heavily-involved on the trade front. They spent the last several months trying to land an upgrade at quarterback, first attempting to get Matt Stafford, then openly thirsting for Deshaun Watson and finally trading three draft picks for Sam Darnold.

There are legitimate questions about Darnold’s game and how much of an upgrade he really is compared to Teddy Bridgewater. Other pickups also have their issues, from A.J. Bouye’s suspension and post-2017 decline to David Moore’s prowess as a WR3.

There’s no such thing as a perfect offseason though and in the big picture this franchise has been aggressively pursuing its needs and showing a previously-missing sense of urgency.

Time will tell whether the moves that they’ve made will pay off and help turn around a team that’s suffered three losing seasons in a row. To their credit, Fitterer and Rhule are using all the tools at their disposal to try to get better. At the end of the day, that’s all any fan of a struggling team can ask.

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Panthers expected to sign former Titans DL DaQuan Jones

The Carolina Panthers are expected to sign DT DaQuan Jones to a one-year deal.

Not only was it reported that free agent defensive tackle DaQuan Jones would have a visit with the Panthers on Tuesday, he’s already said to be likely to sign on the dotted line.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jones is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Panthers:

Jones, 29, was a fourth-round pick of the Titans in 2014 and has spent his entire career there. A big body up front, Jones had three sacks last season in the middle of their defensive line. Since 2015, he’s held a starter spot with the Titans and in five of those six years he play in all 16 games.

Over the past two seasons, Jones was graded a 77.6 and 67.7 by Pro Football Focus, respectively.

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Panthers expected to sign ex-Titans DL DaQuan Jones after visit

It looks like DaQuan Jones will have a new home after seven seasons in Tennessee.

It looks like defensive lineman DaQuan Jones will be playing for a new team in 2021 after spending all seven of his seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Carolina Panthers are hosting Jones for a visit, and the expectation is that the team will sign him to a one-year deal afterwards.

Jones was originally a fourth-round pick of the Titans back in 2014 and was one of the longest-tenured players on the team before moving on this offseason.

It wasn’t clear what the Titans would do at nose tackle with Jones on the open market, but now it’s clear Tennessee will indeed need to find a new starter.

There are a slew of avenues available for general manager Jon Robinson to fill the void. He could look to free agency, the 2021 NFL draft, or keep the solution in-house.

As far as in-house solutions are concerned, the team has a few with 2020 UDFA standout, Teair Tart, 2020 fifth-round pick, Larrell Murchison, and newly-signed defensive lineman Denico Autry can also play up the gut.

Jones’ ability as a run defender will be missed, but now the Titans have an opportunity to once again upgrade their pass-rush during their quest to replace him, as that was one area where the veteran didn’t excel.

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Titans players react to Jonnu Smith landing massive deal with Patriots

Titans players were cheering on their former teammate after he reportedly landed a big deal with the Patriots.

Just hours after it was reported that the Tennessee Titans didn’t plan on bringing back tight end Jonnu Smith, he ended up agreeing to terms on a massive deal with the New England Patriots.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Smith will ink a four-year, $50 million deal with New England with $31.25 million guaranteed when players can officially sign their new contracts on March 17.

We’ve said over and over again that we didn’t expect Smith back, mostly because the Titans couldn’t afford to pay him, and that was when we thought he’d get somewhere in the ballpark of $8 to $10 million annually.

However, it’s obvious there was absolutely no shot for the Titans to bring him back at that price he got from the Pats, which works out to $12.5 million annually.

After the news broke of Smith’s reported deal, several of his now-former teammates took to Twitter to share their reactions to the payday.

https://twitter.com/GrindSimmons94/status/1371511891068129288

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