The Seattle Seahawks’ top free agent heading into the new league year is on the mend.
Linebacker Ernest Jones IV recently had knee surgery, which may keep him out of football activities into the summer, but that’s secondary to the prospects of re-signing him and at what cost.
From the Seattle Times:
Seahawks middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, the team’s most important pending free agent, had knee surgery shortly after the regular season, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told The Seattle Times.
The knee surgery, which was to clean up an injury Jones dealt with throughout last season, was portrayed as not overly serious and it’s thought that Jones would be ready to return to football activity as soon as June, if not earlier.
However, any team that might want to sign Jones as a free agent would likely want to put him through a physical.
Jones did have knee issues with the Los Angeles Rams and was frequently listed on the injury report in the final few weeks of his first season with the Seahawks.
The 25-year-old Jones was acquired by the Seahawks via trade with the Tennessee Titans, sending linebacker Jerome Baker and a 2025 fourth-round pick to Nashville. He played in all out of a possible 10 games with the Seahawks, missing only a handful of snaps against the Green Bay Packers. An otherwise struggling Seattle defense showed significant improvement with Jones serving as the middle linebacker and defensive signal-caller.
Contract talks were most recently put on pause back in January, one day before Seattle’s regular season finale. General manager John Schneider most recently said at the NFL Combine that they’d continue to have discussions with Jones and his team.
The “legal tampering” period of free agency begins on Monday, Mar. 10. However, actual free agency officially starts Wednesday, Mar. 12 and that’s the date when teams can actually bring in players for physicals and visits.
Just something to keep in mind amid a whirlwind day in Seattle Seahawks football.