Report: Seahawks CB Sidney Jones Expected to Start vs. 49ers

After not seeing any defensive snaps in the first three games of the season, with Seattle seeking a spark in the secondary, Jones will replace Tre Flowers in the starting lineup at right cornerback against San Francisco.

After coach Pete Carroll hinted a change could be coming in the secondary all week, the Seahawks will hand over the keys at right cornerback to Sidney Jones in Sunday's NFC West opener against the 49ers.

According to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Jones is expected to replace Tre Flowers in the starting lineup across from D.J. Reed. It remains unknown whether the former Washington Husky star will play the entire game or split reps with Flowers in a platoon.

The Seahawks acquired Jones, 25, from the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick shortly before the start of the regular season. Needing time to get acclimated to a new defense with limited practice reps, he has been restricted to 24 special teams snaps in the team's first three games and has yet to see any playing time on defense.

But riding a two-game losing streak, Seattle badly needs a spark in the secondary, as Flowers has struggled mightily through the first three games. He allowed a touchdown in coverage in the opener in Indianapolis and during losses to Tennessee and Minnesota, per Pro Football Focus, he yielded 11 receptions for 180 yards on 13 targets. So far this year, quarterbacks are posting a 139.6 rating when targeting him and he's allowed nearly 15 yards per reception.

After getting torched by Justin Jefferson last Sunday, coach Pete Carroll didn't have much positive to say about Seattle's cornerback play, the first signal a change could be coming soon.

“I was disappointed late in the game. We needed to challenge [the ball] to get some wins, to see if we could get off the field that way. And their receiver beat us," Carroll said.

With Seattle banking on a personnel change helping turn one of the league's worst defenses around, Jones will step into the lineup aiming to pick up where he left off after a solid season in Jacksonville in 2020. Appearing in nine games with six starts, opposing quarterbacks completed just 51.4 percent of their passes against him and he established a new career-high with seven pass breakups and a pair of interceptions.

Once viewed as a surefire first-round pick coming out of Washington, Jones has dealt with numerous injuries in the NFL, including suffering a torn Achilles tendon during his pro day before the 2017 NFL Draft. These durability woes have prevented him from reaching his potential, but after learning similar techniques under current Huskies coach Jimmy Lake, Carroll and the Seahawks viewed him as a great fit for their defense and decided to bring him into the fold.

When asked if Jones would play against the 49ers on Friday, Carroll simply responded "you'll see." Now, he will have his first crack at potentially earning a long-term starting role for Seattle and will be challenged right away by matchups against rising star Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

Per a source, Jones may not be the only newcomer at cornerback who sees some action in Santa Clara either as the team continues to search for the right starting combination. After receiving a raving review from Carroll on Friday, third-year defender Bless Austin could make his Seahawks debut in the secondary, depending on how the game unfolds.

Austin, a 2019 sixth-round pick out of Rutgers, was claimed off waivers from the Jets in early September. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder would likely see snaps at left cornerback in place of D.J. Reed, who allowed a pair of touchdown receptions last weekend against the Vikings.