Unheralded Seahawks defender tabbed new fan favorite in Seattle

“Let me root, root, root for the home tea…uh, player?”

Borrowing here from the classic baseball tune “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” a song that is actually older than the National Football League. Of course, the topic here is professional football. NFL.com’s Tom Blair and Dan Parr combined to come up with a player from each of the 32 teams to “root” for. The former covered the NFC, and Parr made his picks for the AFC.

In the case of the Seattle Seahawks, a club that won 10 games this past season but managed to miss the playoffs, the choice was a midseason acquisition from the Tennessee Titans that helped solve some of the team’s early issues on defense. Blair's pick was linebacker Ernest Jones IV.

“Jones’ efforts last season didn’t lead to a playoff appearance or earn him any individual awards, but he did do something quietly admirable, at least to me, performing like a consummate pro despite changing teams twice in the span of two months.

Dec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“Dealt from the Rams to the Titans in August," added Blair, "Jones collected 44 total tackles in Tennessee between Weeks 1 and 7, second-most on the team in that span—and then he was traded to the Seahawks, whom he led in tackles (94) from Week 8 to Week 18. Seattle rewarded him by giving him a long-term home, signing him to a three-year pact this offseason to help keep Mike Macdonald’s defense moving in the right direction.”

Jones is actually playing for his third NFL franchise. He was a rookie on the Los Angeles Rams’ team that rallied to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in Super Bowl LVI in 2021. The Seahawks’ defense was struggling this past season against the run before his arrival and his play made a big difference. An up-and-coming defense added veteran DeMarcus Lawrence and rookie safety Nick Emmanwori this offseason. It’s going to be interesting to see what Jones and company can do in 2025.

More Seahawks on SI stories