The Bills defensive line shifted quickly on Monday.
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is headed to the Minnesota Vikings, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. But the Bills found a replacement for Phillips at the critical, 1-technique run-stuffing position by agreeing to terms with eight-year veteran DaQuan Jones of the Carolina Panthers.
Jones, 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, is a prototypical run stopper in a 4-3 defensive front. He played seven seasons for the Tennessee Titans before moving to the Panthers last year. Jones has not missed a game in the last four years.
Meanwhile, the Bills added depth to the defensive tackle position by agreeing to terms with the Washington Commanders' Tim Settle on a two-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Settle can play both defensive tackle positions.
Phillips' deal with Minnesota is for three years and is worth $19.5 million, the NFL Network reported. Jones' deal with Buffalo was first reported by ESPN.
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Phillips was a third-round draft pick of the Bills in 2018. The Nebraska native and Stanford alum was the team's nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award each of the last two seasons. He had a bigger role on the Bills defense last season, stepping up when needed and taking advantage of his own health.
Phillips finished the year with 51 tackles, four tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and one sack in 14 games. He started eight of those games, all within the last nine games of the regular season.
Between Phillips' play and his work off the field, general manager Brandon Beane saw plenty of reasons to try to keep the former draft pick.
"We counted on Harry a lot down the stretch," Beane said at the combine. "And so he’s been a great person in the community, great in our locker room, and getting his chance to test free agency. ... So we’ll see. We’ll see where it goes. We would obviously love to have him back, but it’s gotta be at a price that’s fair to him and fair to us."
Likewise, Phillips had expressed his desire to stay in Buffalo if it worked out. In the end, Phillips' market was strong.
Settle, a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft, played collegiately with Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds at Virginia Tech.
A 6-foot-3, 308-pounder, Settle played just 20% of defensive snaps last season for Washington. He was stuck behind a logjam of talent on the Commanders' defensive line, which includes four first-round picks in defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat and defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. Both Settle and fellow reserve defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis have been viewed as quality backups.
Settle has played in 63 games – 16, 15, 16 and 16 in his four NFL seasons. He has started two.
He has tallied 54 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks in that time. Five of his seven sacks came in 2020. His first sack in the NFL came on Tom Brady, then with the Patriots.
Jones was a fourth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in the 2014 draft. The Penn State product has started 110 of his 116 career games, a consistent starter since his rookie year.
A biceps injury sidelined him for four games in 2017; outside of that, he's started every game the last seven seasons.
Jones played 59% of defensive snaps for the Panthers last season. In his career, the 30-year-old defensive tackle has 273 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
