Seahawks DL Dre'Mont Jones Could Become Cap Casualty

The Seattle Seahawks face a long offseason ahead of them, but that comes with a number of different challenges.

By winning 10 games, the Seahawks have proven to be good. But by missing the playoffs, they also need to improve in some key areas.

One area that isn't considered a massive need is the defensive line considering Leonard Williams was an absolute star for the Seahawks in the trenches. However, they have Dre'Mont Jones there next to him, and he hasn't shown much for the team.

That's why Bleacher Report suggests cutting Jones at some point during the offseason.

"The Seahawks are paying Dre'Mont Jones like an elite interior lineman. The production wasn't even close to that standard in 2024. The 28-year-old only played 55 percent of the snaps this season. His run defense grade was 192nd among interior defenders, per PFF, and he only had four sacks. It's hard to justify bringing Jones back at that price tag with those numbers," Bleacher Report writes.

"Trading for Leonard Williams probably signaled the end for Jones during the season. They'll be paying the former Giant $29.1 million if they don't restructure or extend him. They can free up $11.6 million by cutting Jones at the beginning of the offseason."

The financial benefits in cutting Jones should be enough for the Seahawks to consider the move, but it is far from a guarantee at this point.

Jones, 28, had just 28 tackles for the Seahawks this past season compared to a career-high 49 from the year prior. It's clear that the Seahawks didn't get the best out of Jones this season, but sometimes numbers are low when it comes to playing next to Williams.

Given the fact Jones is entering his second season with a new head coach in Mike Macdonald, he may feel like he should implement more changes. However, Macdonald spoke highly of Jones throughout the year.

"I think Dre'Mont's been playing really good ball lately, so those three guys are, I mean, the front right now is I think there's a really good chemistry in that room and so, you know, they're happy for each other's success and they're playing like that. They're not playing selfish football up front. We're playing smart, we're playing together and that's what's going take for us to win down the stretch," Macdonald said last month.

Having a player like Jones in the defense is big for depth purposes, and the Seahawks would benefit tremendously keeping him in the fold. However, with improvements to make, the Seahawks have to evaluate everyone, and Jones is right up there with the players who will be looked at under a microscope due to the high salary.