Seahawks GM's comments on Ernest Jones at NFL Combine inspire hope for a deal

Seattle's front office boss had nothing but praise for the team's most-important pending free agent.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 27: Ernest Jones IV #13 of the Seattle Seahawks in action against the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field on October 27, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. | (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks have four major pieces of business to take care of this offseason, from our perspective. Most of the critical work will come on offense, where they have to a) rebuild the interior offensive line, b) make a decision on Geno Smith one way or the other and c) re-sign DK Metcalf to another contract extension.

The final item on the big-picture to do list comes on defense, where Seattle looks poised to field an elite scoring unit this coming season after a big leap forward in 2025. However, a whole lot of that improvement was thanks to one key addition: the trade for middle linebacker Ernest Jones.

Without Jones in the lineup the Seahawks' defense didn't look any better than it had during the final years of the Pete Carroll era, and if he were to leave in free agency there's a really good chance that the unit woul take a signficant step backwards.

That they haven't re-signed Jones to a new deal yet is moderately concerning, but all indications are that the Seahawks want to get a deal done with Jones, who expects to stay in Seattle. Here's what general manager John Schneider shared about Jones earlier this week at the NFL Combine, according to Seattle Sports radio.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 25: General manager John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks speaks to the media during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. | (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

“Really important for us... He did a great job when he came in. He’s just got a natural leadership about him and a very instinctive football player. And yeah, we’ve had positive conversations with his agents and we hope to continue that this week.”

Jones isn't quite playing at a peak-Bobby Wagner kind of level, but he has performed more than well enough to earn a top-five salary at his position. That will likely cost the Seahawks an average of $15 million per year at a minimum, which would rank Jones fourth in the league in annual average among inside linebackers.

Hopefully the Seahawks agree he's worth that much, because if he's allowed to leave no only will the Seahawks lose their defensive centerpiece, they will have wasted a fourth-round draft pick (and another linebacker) to get just 10 starts from Jones.

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