Ernest Jones IV might be playing his way out of re-signing with Seahawks

There are a couple of different ways of looking at what the Seattle Seahawks did at inside linebacker this past offseason. One is that the team made a couple of huge mistakes. Letting Bobby Wagner leave once again in free agency was one. Signing Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson to replace Wagner and Jordyn Brooks was another.

Baker and Dodson are now both gone as the team gave up on them around the midway mark of the season. Dodson was outright released after the bye week. Baker was traded to the Tennessee Titans for Ernest Jones IV. Baker was supposed to be good in coverage, and Dodson good against the run. Neither was good at much of anything they did.

Jones, though, has been quite good since coming to Seattle. Don't look at the Pro Football Focus (paywall alert) grades, though. They won't show the difference Jones has made on the Seattle defense. PFF knows what they do well, but they, like Seattle general manager John Schneider, do make mistakes. Jones' grades in a Seahawks uniform are some of them.

12s can use the eye test to know that Seattle is allowing fewer rushing yards in the last two games, and fewer yards per play, and a big reason for that is Jones. He hasn't supplied much in terms of pass rush, but that has never been his forte. He has been fantastic in run defense and tackling, and solid in pass coverage.

In three games for Seattle, Jones has 11 run stuffs. Baker had 15 in five games, but seven of those came in one game. He was not consistently good, and Jones, so far, has been. In fact, his worst game was probably the first one he played for Seattle because he only had a few days to practice before Seattle played the Buffalo Bills. One used to the scheme, Jones has excelled.

Neither Jones nor head coach Mike Macdonald make it seem as if they want the player to leave after this season, either. Jones will be a free agent. The linebacker told the media recently that he was thinking of his wife and young son and how he did not want them to have to keep moving around the country jumping from team to team.

Jones said, "The whole time I'm just thinking about my son and my wife. Sitting on that plane, I don't want to put them through this again...I'm ready to go play football so I can go out here and show not only the Seahawks but show that I am what I say I am."

Macdonald told reporters, "I can tell you that we’re really excited about Ernest. And I hope there’s an opportunity for him to be here for an extended period of time."

The problem is that Jones might currently be playing too well. He has only played under a rookie deal so far in the NFL so he will expect a pay increase. That could mean $5 million or more. The Seahawks, however, have no cap room right now and literally cannot afford Jones in 2025. Seattle has to make some cap room just to be able to sign its 2025 draft picks.

The salary cap could go up quite a bit next offseason, and Seattle will probably release a couple of expensive players, but they also might have other priorities such as addressing the interior of the offensive line. Having Jones return should be a good move for the team and the player, but whether the Seahawks can pay Jones what he wants is in question.