Since arriving in Seattle last fall in a midseason trade, Ernest Jones IV has established himself as a leader of the Seahawks defense and as one of the best inside linebackers in the league.
And while Jones' physical gifts, intelligence, instincts and work ethic are big factors in his success, he acknowledges that another less obvious factor in standout play since joining the Seahawks is the one season he spent playing alongside an all-time great in Los Angeles.
In 2022, Jones' second season in the NFL, the Rams signed veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, who had spent the previous 10 seasons building a Hall of Fame resume in Seattle. Both players have since left L.A., with Jones getting traded first to Tennessee last year, then to Seattle midway through the season, and with Wagner signing back with Seattle in 2023, then with the Commanders last year. But that one year they spent together made a lasting impact on Jones.
"I think I'm finding out what he meant to me more now than I realized back then," Jones said. "The first couple of years, I was definitely trying to learn, but I was stuck in my way, had a way of doing things. He was teaching me, but I feel like the things he taught me, I'm applying now as I'm getting older."
Here, the 25-year-old Jones catches himself, clarifying, "Well, older in football terms. As I'm getting older, football wise, just how to take care of the body, mentally how to be sharp, and those things are applying now, and I'm playing not bad right now."
When the Seahawks and Commanders face off on Sunday night, the focus for both teams will obviously be on trying to earn a victory, but for Seahawks players who were around when Wagner was in Seattle, or for fans who watched Wagner play in the middle of some all-time great defenses, there will also be an acknowledgement of a Hall of Fame player still getting the job done in his 14th NFL season.
Wagner, a six-time first-team All-Pro as a Seahawk, has been named first or second-team All-Pro in each of the last 11 seasons, and earned Pro-Bowl honors in 10 of those seasons. This season, he is well on his way to a 14th consecutive 100-tackle season with 83 tackles, the second most in the league, as well as 2.0 sacks, five tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble. And as has been the case throughout his career, the 35-year-old Wagner is still an every-down player despite playing one of the sport's most physical positions.
"I'm in awe of him being able to do that," Jones said. "This game is physical; this position is physical. I know how hard I attack each and every game, and I know he's the same way. So 14 years of that on your body and you're still out balling, that's testament to him and the work he's put in."