PITTSFORD — Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, it was a day off for DaQuan Jones. But that didn’t stop him from getting into a three-point stance while teammate Austin Johnson listened intently.
Both are now in their 30s, weathered by age and nearly a decade apiece in the NFL, but the relationship between the Buffalo Bills defensive tackle duo hasn’t changed much over the last 11 years, when they first met at Penn State. Jones was a senior, looking to establish himself as one of the top defensive tackles in the country, while Johnson was a freshman who wanted to prove he could compete right away.
The same scenario played out again in 2016, when Jones was entering his third year with the Tennessee Titans and Johnson was an eager rookie, drafted in the second round. Their time together with Titans lasted four years before Johnson moved on to the New York Giants in 2020.
Now, on the field at St. John Fisher University, Jones and Johnson are back together once again, and what Jones calls a big brother-little brother relationship, hasn’t changed much as Jones is one of the defense’s’ top leaders in his third year with the Bills, while Johnson, his top backup, is soaking up tips as he adapts to a new scheme.
“For me, it’s like a little brother situation,” Jones, 32, said. “His work ethic and what he does and what he brings to the table, whatever I can do to kind of help him out here, I’m going to do that. I love him, I love having him here. I love being around him every day just to catch up and talk and we thought we didn’t miss a beat.”
Jones was at Johnson’s draft party when the Titans made them teammates for a second time. He was also aware that Johnson’s contract was expiring with the Los Angeles Chargers and knew the Bills needed help at defensive tackle, so he started whispering Johnson’s name to Buffalo executives.
Johnson called Jones immediately when the Bills started expressing interest and Jones began pushing the idea of coming to Buffalo based on the opportunity to not only go to the playoffs, but to become a better player. Two weeks after Jones signed a two-year deal to return to the Bills, he broke the news on social media that Johnson was joining the team, too.
“He’s very persuasive, but he’s good, man,” Johnson said. “He pretty much summarized all the things that I was thinking about being here. He had nothing but good things to say and I haven’t found anything bad so far. It’s a very family-oriented team, which I love.”
When Johnson left Tennessee, both felt it was strange not playing together at first. But life rolled on, both getting busy with their careers and families and didn’t talk often for a few years, but over the last few years, Johnson says they have been talking more regularly.
Jones has two kids now and Johnson has three, but because they have been playing on different teams, their families haven’t had much of a chance to get to know each other. Now that they’re teammates again, the relationship simply has another layer.
“Life changes over 10-plus years,” Johnson, 30, said. “We talk about a lot of things — getting the kids together, hanging out, studying film, going over the plays and stuff like that.”
On the field, Jones is helping Johnson get acclimating after not playing in a traditional 4-3 defense since he was at Penn State. Both players are predominantly 3-technique tackles, lining up between the offensive tackle and guard.
Johnson doesn’t expect a big learning curve, though, since so many NFL teams play more sub-packages now, including the Bills, who almost never play with three linebackers. Still, having played in coach Sean McDermott’s defense since 2022, Jones can show Johnson what he would do in situations before and after the snap.
“It’s never easy being a starter your whole career to come in and back up someone else and we had the same situation, kind of, in Tennessee,” Jones said. “But he’s someone who I love and respect and vice versa and we really have no ego when it comes to playing the game.”