Seahawks starting middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV was sidelined with a knee injury late in the first half and did not return to the game. Jones was injured on a play with 1:17 left in the first half.
After being examined in the blue medical tent he headed to the locker room and did not return and then declared out as the second half began.
Macdonald indicated later that Jones may have escaped serious injury.
“Ernest has a bit of a knee (injury) and we’ll figure out,” Macdonald said. “It’s not season-ending.”
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Macdonald said there’s a chance Jones could miss next Sunday’s game against Arizona but said “we’ll see” and that otherwise it was too early to give any sort of a timeline.
Drake Thomas, who began the game at weakside linebacker, took over the duties of wearing the green-dot helmet and relaying the play calls in from Macdonald with Tyrice Knight entering as the other inside linebacker.
Jones dealt with a knee issue all of the 2024 season and had surgery following the year to repair it. It was not immediately clear if his injury suffered Sunday is related to that injury.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.