SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks locked up a key player on their defense, signing linebacker Ernest Jones IV to a three-year contract worth a reported $28.5 million.
Jones was set to become a free agent at the start of the new league year on Wednesday but now will remain in Seattle after being acquired in a midseason trade last year.
“I’m super excited, super blessed, thankful to be a part of this team and what’s to come,” Jones told the team's website on Tuesday. “We’ve got some good things brewing here, and I’m super excited to be a part of it.”
Jones finds a long-term home after making two big moves last season. He was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to Tennessee just before the start of the season and then dealt again to Seattle in October for a fourth-round pick and linebacker Jerome Baker.
The addition of Jones played a big part in Seattle's defensive turnaround last season under first-year coach Mike Macdonald. Jones took over as middle linebacker as soon as he arrived and had 94 tackles, two passes defensed, one forced fumble and one interception in 10 games.
The Seahawks allowed three fewer points per game with Jones in the lineup than before he arrived.
Jones was originally picked in the third round of the 2021 draft by the Rams and played a key role in helping Los Angeles win the Super Bowl as a rookie.
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The Associated Press
