[Insert Carolina-to-Buffalo pipeline joke here.]
According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, free-agent linebacker Deion Jones is signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. The 29-year-old defender spent the 2023 campaign as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
Jones was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. The LSU product went on to notch a third-place finish in the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and made his first Pro Bowl in 2017.
In his six seasons manning the middle for Carolina’s NFC South foes, Jones tallied 652 tackles, 11.0 sacks and 11 interceptions. He’d then be traded to the Cleveland Browns for a 2024 sixth-round pick in October of 2022 and went on to play in 11 games—totaling 44 combined tackles and 2.5 sacks.
The Panthers signed Jones last July, released him during final roster cuts in August and brought him back up to the active roster in late September. He ended up appearing in 13 games for the team this past season—recording 35 tackles, a sack and six passes defensed.
