Bills DT Room Storylines: Phillips Injury Update, DaQuan Jones, Poona Ford Speaks Out

DaQuan Jones Close to Return?

DT DaQuan Jones had his 21-day practice window opened this week, clearing the way for him to be activated soon. The Bills have taken some hits to the DL this year, most notably Jones and AJ Epenesa. But, they do have a decent amount of depth at the position, most notably Poona Ford. They should be fine for the next couple games.

Bills rostered DTs

• Ed Oliver
• Linval Joseph
• Poona Ford
• Tim Settle
• Eli Ankou (practice squad)
• Andrew Brown (practice squad)

Poona Ford

The Bills signed Ford to a one-year deal back in May. However, Ford has only been active in five games, racking up stats in three of them. He’s totaled seven tackles and one QB hit in that time. Unfortunately, Ford is the odd man out in a deep DT room, but now, since it has thinned out, he should see plenty more action. To make matters even worse, he hasn’t been happy with his limited playing time. He said the following to Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News,

“I don’t know, it’s just been weird for me… This isn’t what I was expecting coming here… I thought I was going to be able to contribute and help this team win.”

Poona Ford on his limited role this season (via Jay Skurski/Buffalo News)

This situation doesn’t make sense to Poona, or the fan base. But the Bills may not value him quite like we expected. After Jones’ injury earlier in the season, the team signed big Linval Joseph to eat up the middle, and continued to leave Poona as a healthy scratch. Now, we should at least be able to see Poona suit up these last three regular season games. Especially since there isn’t anyone left to replace him on the gameday roster. The Buffalo Bills will finally need to put their trust in the big DT, who came here both as an experienced run stuffer and pass rusher. Ford racked up 181 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and one forced fumble over his career with the Seattle Seahawks.

However, if they continue to look to other guys over Poona Ford, there are some guys with experience on the practice squad. Eli Ankou has played for the Bills before, appearing in five games and totaling nine tackles and one sack. Another guy Buffalo has is Andrew Brown. Brown also signed with Buffalo after Jones’ injury and, this week, got some praise from coach Eric Washington when he spoke to the media.

The Buffalo Bills have enough players with experience, most notably Poona Ford. But the question is, will they turn to Ford when they need him the most? They’ll need his game experience and veteran presence right now as they finish this season down two experienced rushers in the middle.