Tag: DaQuan Jones

Bills officially activate DaQuan Jones from injured reserve

#Bills officially activate DaQuan Jones from injured reserve:

The Buffalo Bills officially have defensive tackle DaQuan Jones back in their lineup ahead of facing the New England Patriots in Week 17.

Jones was activated from the team’s injured reserve list ahead of hosting the Patriots (4-11) on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:

On Thursday, the Bills (9-6) released offensive lineman Germain Ifedi in what appeared to be a transaction to open a roster space. Most assumed Jones would be taking that place, which has now happened.

Jones, 31, has 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss this season in four games played. He sustained a pectoral injury which kept him sidelined most of the year.

At the time of his injury, Pro Football Focus graded Jones an excellent 90.5 overall mark. That was their fifth-best defensive tackle grade in the NFL at the time.

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Highlights of Bills practice ahead of Patriots matchup in Week 17

Highlights of #Bills practice ahead of #Patriots matchup in Week 17:

The Buffalo Bills are onto their next matchup in Week 17.

Awaiting the Bills (9-6) is is a clash against the New England Patriots (4-11) on Sunday.

The Bills will hope their practice and attention to detail will pay off in the form of another win this weekend. With the playoff picture at the center of everything the rest of the way this season, it’s sorely needed.

Check out highlights of the Bills’ practice this week shared to social media below by local media and the team in the list below:

Bills’ DaQuan Jones expected to return vs. Patriots

#Bills’ DaQuan Jones expected to return vs. #Patriots:

The Buffalo Bills are likely going to see the return of defensive tackle DaQuan Jones on Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott told WGR-550 radio during his weekly appearance on the outlet that Jones is likely going to be back in the lineup.

On Thursday, the Bills (9-6) released offensive lineman Germain Ifedi in what appeared to be a transaction to open a roster space. Most assumed Jones would be taking that place, and with McDermott’s comments, that’s all but sealed.

Jones, 31, has 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss this season in four games played. He sustained a pectoral injury which kept him sidelined most of the year.

At the time of his injury, Pro Football Focus graded Jones an excellent 90.5 overall mark. That was their fifth-best defensive tackle grade in the NFL at the time.

Jones has not yet officially been placed on the 53-man roster. That is likely to come on Saturday.

Bills Wire will provide updates when information is made available.

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Bills’ DaQuan Jones injury update: ‘Feeling pretty dang good’

#Bills’ DaQuan Jones: ‘Feeling pretty dang good’

The Buffalo Bills won’t have DaQuan Jones in the lineup against the Los Angeles Chargers. But the defensive tackle will soon return.

The Bills (8-6) designated Jones to return from injured reserve this week. Head coach Sean McDermott indicated Jones will not play in Los Angeles (5-9), but after that his return is possible.

McDermott also gave more of his usual assessment of injury. The team will give it “one day at a time,” and so on.

In terms of Jones himself, he did a bit of the same. The defender beat around the bush when asked when he could possibly return from his pectoral injury. But he did sound positive.

“Feeling pretty dang good,” Jones said. “Over the past couple weeks and months I’ve been busting my tail in the training room.”

For more from Jones, see the attached Spectrum News clip below:

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Highlights of Bills practice ahead of Chargers matchup in Week 16

Highlights of #Bills practice ahead of #Chargers matchup in Week 16:

The Buffalo Bills are onto their next matchup in Week 16.

Awaiting the Bills (8-6) is is a clash against the Los Angeles Chargers (5-9). As it typically is, once midweek arrives, Buffalo turns the page to their next foe by having their first day of practice in Orchard Park in preparation for the contest en route.

The Bills will hope their practice and attention to detail will pay off in the form of another win this weekend. With the playoff picture at the center of everything the rest of the way this season, it’s sorely needed.

Check out highlights of the Bills’ practice this week shared to social media below by local media and the team in the list below:

Bills at Chargers: 6 storylines to watch for in Week 16

#Bills at #Chargers: 6 storylines to watch for in Week 16:

The Buffalo Bills will turn the page of their 2023 NFL season to Week 16 and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Bills (8-6) are fresh off their huge win over the Dallas Cowboys in a 31-10 fashion. Buffalo will hope to stay in their winning ways against Los Angeles, however, the Chargers (5-9) will be no pushover as there is plenty on the line ahead of this matchup.

But before we even get to kickoff, there will be a lot of Bills-related discussions and conversations to be had throughout the coming days.

With that, here are five storylines to watch for during the lead up to Bills at Chargers on Saturday:

Bills designate DaQuan Jones to return from injured reserve

DaQuan Jones could be back for the #Bills, but maybe not right away:

The Buffalo Bills defense is fresh off a huge effort against the Dallas Cowboys. Now they’re set to get a boost in the form of DaQuan Jones.

Head coach Sean McDermott announced that the team has designated the defensive tackle to return from injured reserve on Monday ahead of facing the Los Angeles Chargers.

Jones was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 8 due to a pectoral injury. There had long been questions relating to whether or not his season would be over because of the injury, but it appears not.

Jones, 31, has 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss this season. At the time he was placed on IR, Jones was held in very high regard. Pro Football Focus had graded Jones an excellent 90.5 overall mark for the year. That was their fifth-best defensive tackle grade in the NFL when he went down.

Jones being designated to return opens a 21-day practice window. The Bills (8-6) have that three-week time period to place him back on their 53-man roster or else he is sent back to injured reserve.

While that is a grey area, Jones will spend at least a week in that window. McDermott said he does not expect Jones to play against the Chargers (5-9) on Saturday in Week 16.

Bills Wire will provide updates when information is made available.

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Stat shows depleted Bills defense unable to close games this season

Stat shows depleted #Bills defense unable to close games this season:

At the end of last season, the Buffalo Bills had a defense that many NFL teams feared. They had held opponents to the second-lowest points per game while securing 17 interceptions, generating 40 sacks, and forcing 11 fumbles. Buffalo’s defensive prowess helped propel the Bills to the No. 1 seed during the regular season.

Many fans and experts predicted Buffalo to continue to have an elite defense this year. However, injuries to many of their defensive stars have prevented their continued success.

Injuries across the defense, from defensive lineman to the secondary, have been rife with four players heading to the injured reserve list. Tre’Davious White in Week 4 was the start, quickly followed by Da’Quan Jones and 2022 All-Pro Matt Milano in Week 5 during their international game in London. A couple weeks later, Kaiir Elam joined his teammates on IR.

And while many defenders have stepped up into these roles, the performances have been noticeably different. Especially in the most difficult part of the game for defenders – near the end.

Now, the Bills defense is still creating takeaways (11 interceptions in 12 games, on pace with last year) and getting to opposing quarterbacks and forcing fumbles more. In fact, they already beat last year’s sack total and forced more fumbles before they reached their bye week, with five more games remaining.

But the Bills have comfortably won a handful games this season, including against the Raiders, Commanders, Dolphins, and Jets. And in those games, the Buffalo defense have generated turnovers in the air and on the ground while getting to the opposing quarterbacks several times.

It’s the games a team loses that usually show the defensive issues.

Currently, Buffalo is 6-6, and in their six games they have lost, their defensive has given up a lot of points.

Especially compared to last year’s Bills.. And especially at the end of games.

The 2023 Bills, in the fourth quarter and overtime, have given up more points that the 2022 Bills did in the entire season, according to independent Buffalo journalist Jerry Sullivan. And no matter how many turnovers a defense generates throughout the game, if they cannot stop offenses from scoring at the end of games then they will have trouble winning. Especially when they have been in 7 one-score games this season, winning only 2 of those games against below average teams (4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 4-8 New York Giants).

The hope will be that Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who took over defensive coordinator duties during the offseason, will be able to use the upcoming bye week to address this issue:

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ESPN’s Ryan Clark breaks down Bills new defensive look vs. Bucs (video)

ESPN’s Ryan Clark breaks down #Bills new defensive look vs. #Bucs (video):

The Buffalo Bills defense have lost some key pieces in the last couple of weeks, with injuries to Tre’Davious White, Da’Quan Jones, and Matt Milano resulting in various second- and third-string players seeing their snap counts vary at their expected and alternate positions.

The tinkering on the defensive front happens throughout an NFL season, as injuries are always possible. To lose multiple key pieces across all levels of the defense is unlikely, but sometimes it happens.

Sean McDermott, who took over defensive coordinator duties this offseason, had looked at different ways to line up and include his extremely talented defenders on the field and players that can make big plays to disrupt the offensive timing for throws and tackle running backs behind the line of scrimmage.

In Week 8, the Buffalo defense lined up in a unique formation with three safeties on occasion. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointed out how the Bills lined up in this formation against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and how the formation allows for Buffalo’s talented safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde to both be on the field while having a third safety, Taylor Rapp, drop into the linebacker role during passing downs.

And the former NFL quarterback asked guest Ryan Clark for this thoughts on the new personnel during ESPN’s NFL Live program. Clark played 12 years as a safety in the NFL across various defensive schemes and formations, and definitely knows a thing or two about winning. The NFL veteran started as safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers for five years, including during the 2008 season when he won Super Bowl XLIII.

Clark also highlighted to Orlovsky that the defensive scheme seemed to be a game plan for the Buccaneers specifically, given their inability to run the football and reliance on quarterback Baker Mayfield to beat opponents through the air.

You can watch the full clip of Clark and Orlovsky analyzing the Bills’ defense here following a segment on the Bills’ offense by Orlovsky:

LOOK: Bills’ DaQuan Jones wears sling around team facility

DaQuan Jones was back in OP:

Since a few long-term injuries have went down on the Bills defense, we’ve had some players spotted around Orchard Park as of late.

Earlier this week, Bills head coach Sean McDermott mentioned how he’s happy to see linebacker Matt Milano (leg).

Just a few days later, it looks like DaQuan Jones is doing the same.

Prior to kickoff between Bills-Buccaneers on Thursday, Jones shared an image of him walking into the locker room at One Bills Drive. Jones sustained a pectoral injury against the Jaguars in London and likely had surgery on it because he was wearing a sling in his photo.

But along with the pic, Jones had a smile on too. A good sign.

The image Jones shared to social media can be found below:

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