The Bills are starting this process days after Sean McDermott hinted that DaQuan Jones, who has been sidelined since early October due to a pectoral ailment, would return. On Tuesday, the seasoned defensive tackle went back to drills.
This initiates Jones’ 21-day activation clock, which is an unexpected move given that the defensive tackle in his tenth year sustained a torn pectoral muscle. It is uncommon for athletes to recover from pectoral surgery during the season, but two are expected to. The Lions are about to allow C.J. Gardner-Johnson to return for an in-season game. The return of starting defenders prior to the playoffs will help both sides.
Jones and Matt Milano were both injured during the Bills’ Week 5 loss to the Jaguars in London. A week before to both losses, Buffalo had once again suffered a season-ending injury to Tre’Davious White. McDermott noted on Tuesday (via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic) that Milano is not anticipated to return. The All-Pro linebacker sustained a severe injury to his leg. However, Jones’s impending return should strengthen Buffalo’s run defense.
Jones was having a great start to his contract year before he got hurt. After five games, Pro Football Focus ranked Jones third among interior D-linemen; the former Titans draft pick had started all 21 games since signing a two-year, $14 million contract with the Bills in 2022. The soon-to-be 32-year-old defense has started 93 games in his career, split between the Titans, Panthers, and Bills.
The Bills will also require a defensive tackle in the future. According to Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News, Jordan Phillips sustained a dislocated wrist against the Cowboys and has already had surgery. In Buffalo’s starting lineup, Phillips was called up to take Jones’ spot. Should the Bills advance to the postseason, he hopes to be ready to play again. The team’s victories against the Chiefs and Cowboys in back-to-back weeks have cleared the way for the postseason, and Phillips and Jones’s presence in the lineup would complete an experienced group that includes Ed Oliver, who was just extended.
The Bills may not be able to reform their Oliver-Jones starting DT tandem immediately, but with games against the Chargers and Patriots on tap, the team does not look to have a difficult matchup on its docket again until a Week 18 Dolphins tilt that could decide the AFC East.
To go inside with Oliver, Jones, and Tim Settle, Buffalo re-signed Phillips. Poona Ford, a former Seahawk, was also acquired by the Bills to the position, but he has only played 95 defensive snaps so far this year. Compared to Phillips, who ranks as the second-worst regular interior D-lineman on the advanced metrics site, PFF has given Settle a far higher rating. This season, in nine starts, the ninth-year veteran Phillips has tallied 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and five pass batdowns.
Leave a Reply