D.J. Jones feels blessed to be back with 49ers, has high hopes for D-line

D.J. Jones feels blessed. He received a nice little pay bump from the San Francisco 49ers after earning $825,000 in 2020. Jones signed a one-year deal that will pay him $3.5 million in 2021.

"I'm speaking from the heart," Jones told reporters on Tuesday. "I've never been disappointed in God, and I follow him in every walk of life, so this is just another step in my journey, so I can't question him. I'm excited to be a Forty-Niner again, and I'm ready to play, to be honest. It's been a while. ... I'm just ready to play."

Jones is excited about the team's potential this season, especially along the defensive front. He feels it is a talented and tight-knit group that may have only gotten better this offseason.

"This group can be as good as it wants to be," Jones said. "There's a lot of guys that love learning, and that aspect alone can take you all the way. It's a bunch of guys that I actually look up to who are younger than me.

"I look up to Kevin Givens. ... Nobody's talking about him, but they will be soon. He's a twitch guy. I love him to death. I love him like my brother. Love them all like my brother, but he's one of the guys that — he might not know it — but I look up to him. He comes to work, he don't say much, but he comes to work, and he works every day, whether he's feeling like it or not. And that goes for the whole room, guys like Arik Armstead. How could you not look up to Arik? He brings his lunch pail to work and the game every day. Javon (Kinlaw).

"We brought in [Samson Ebukam]. Bosa's coming back. So, I'm excited. I honestly really didn't want to go anywhere else. I knew this was gonna be the perfect place for me. So coming back was a dream come true for me."

Jones recorded a career-high three sacks through his 14 games last season. That's not what he envisioned last offseason while sharing that he hoped for a breakout year. The defender knows there is still room for improvement as a pass rusher and was asked how he would grade his 2020 campaign.

"I think I need to finish," Jones responded. "As far as grading, I could have did a lot better, to be honest with you. As far as finishing, I missed a few sacks, a few wide-open sacks. Jameis (Winston of the Saints) is the strongest upper-body quarterback in the game. He shrugged me off with ease. There's a lot I can work on. That's what I'm doing right now."

The defensive lineman has struggled to stay on the field during his NFL career. Jones is doing what he can to prove to the team that it can depend on him for an entire season and dispel any injury concerns.

"I know availability is the No. 1 thing in the NFL, or just being a professional athlete," Jones shared. "That's all I can do, is work on being available. I'm stretching more than I ever have. I'm doing a lot of yoga, doing a lot of stuff that's just getting me prepared for the season and longevity.

"Just wanting to make it from game one — shoot, from preseason — to the Super Bowl, Lord willing, because it hurt not being in the Super Bowl [during the 2019 season]. So that's my mission—to make it to that game and play in it, make it through the game."

Jones is in Florida right now and spoke to reporters from his car. The defensive lineman says he is "working my butt off" each day, improving his conditioning, getting stronger, and preparing for defensive line coach Kris Kocurek's tough practices.

Added Jones: "I actually have an offseason where I'm not dealing with any nagging pains or anything. I'm feeling good, and I'm ready to go."