By Bob Condotta Seattle Times
RENTON — A year ago this time, Ernest Jones IV was in Los Angeles, hoping a new contract was going to work out with the Rams to keep him with the team for seasons to come, if not the rest of his career.
Last week, he stood in the indoor facility at the VMAC in Renton, finally feeling settled after a whirlwind year that saw him first traded by the Rams to Tennessee in August after LA decided it was not going to offer a contract extension, then two months later dealt to Seattle by the Titans, who decided to offload veterans on their way to tying for the worst record in the NFL.
Then once the games were complete in January, Jones had surgery to repair a knee issue that had nagged him the past two seasons and pondered the possibility of becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
Finally on March 9 — four days before the free agent negotiating period opened and the same day the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf to the Steelers — the carousel for Jones finally came to a halt as he agreed to a new three-year deal with the Seahawks worth up to $28.5 million with $10 million guaranteed.
“It meant everything to me,’’ said Jones of the commitment Seattle made to him, in what were his first comments to media since signing his new contract.
“One, (it’s) an opportunity to continue playing football. I think for me, the opportunity that it’s done for my family, being able to do certain stuff for my mom, my wife, my son, making sure they’re good. That was big for me. I owe this organization a lot and I’m excited and looking forward to doing that.”
Still, Jones said it wasn’t until a month later he finally was able to let out something of a sigh of relief.
“It was so stressful,’’ he said of the past year. “I’ll tell you this, maybe around April, me and my wife finally, like, we were laying down and we looked at each other and we’re like, ‘Dang, I finally feel clear headed.’ With everything that was going on, we couldn’t focus on our situation, we just had to attack what was next. Having this time off to really truly think about and ponder on what happened, it’s a blessing to be where I am now.’’
All that’s left now is fully recovering from knee surgery and resuming his role as the leader of the Seahawks’ defense as a player who appears to finally have given Seattle a potential long-term replacement for Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker.
“It’s been nagging me for two seasons,’’ he said of the knee. “I’ve just been playing through it. I was able to finally get it fixed and corrected this offseason, so I’m excited now for what we’ve got and how I can potentially push us a little bit more.”
Jones was limited during Organized Team Activities, doing some individual work and walk-throughs but staying on the sidelines during team sessions.
But Jones sounds confident he’ll be full go sooner rather than later.
“I’m feeling really good,’’ he said. “I’m getting back in the mix right now with the guys, so I’m excited. Like I said earlier, I haven’t been able to play my best ball, whether it be the knee or whether it be other circumstances, but I’m excited for this year truly.”
The Seahawks will be excited for that, as well, having liked what they saw of Jones in 2024 when he arrived in late October in a trade with the Titans for linebacker Jerome Baker and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
Jones started Seattle’s final 10 games, with the last eight coming at middle linebacker after the Seahawks released Tyrel Dodson.
At that point, Seattle not only moved Jones to the middle but installed rookie Tyrice Knight in the starting lineup at weakside linebacker.
That seemed to finally solidify the Seattle defense as first-year coach Mike Macdonald spent the first half of the season tinkering with both schemes and personnel.
The Seahawks ranked among the top five in the NFL in both fewest points and yards allowed as they won six of their last eight.
Re-signing Jones was a key part of Seattle’s plan to keep its defense as intact as possible, a goal the team achieved — 10 of the 11 players who ended the 2024 season as starters are returning in 2025.
Asked about the value of that continuity Jones said: “I think it’s going to be special. I’m excited. I don’t want to give too much because we’ve got to go put the work in. But, if the vision lives up to what I think, yeah, it’s going to be something crazy.”
How good can the Seattle defense be?
“Hoopers,’’ Jones said, using a term from another sport to indicate his enthusiasm. “I like us, man. I like us versus anything and anybody. That’s how I’ll leave it.”
Not that there isn’t work to be done. Late-season home losses to Green Bay and Minnesota that knocked Seattle out of the playoffs showed that there is still room for improvement. Jones said some of the issues a year ago could be pinned on a new group learning to play together. But not all of them.
“You’d like to put all of it on that,’’ said the 25-year-old Jones. “But in certain situations, it was personal, it was us, knowing what to do, just not doing it. Or the moments just not being too big, but the moments are intense. You have to be there for those moments, and you’ve got to just rise to the occasion. We didn’t rise and the other teams did. I think that’s where we’ve got to hone in right now on defense.”
There’s plenty of time to work on that before the regular season begins with a home game against the 49ers on Sept. 7.
And this year, Lumen Field and the rest of Seattle will truly feel like home for Jones, who said he has grown to love the area.
“Honestly, I’m a simple guy, so it’s really simple living out here,’’ he said. “It rains a lot and I don’t like to go anywhere, so it works out perfectly for me. I love it. The people here are nice, my family’s comfortable, I met some nice neighbors. I’m excited. It’s fun for me.”