The Seattle Seahawks are making a habit of disrupting our expectations. In last year’s draft they threw out the usual script of reaching for guards and off-ball linebackers and picked plus athletes at premium positions. That worked out pretty well for them, so now they’ve gone and scratched their normal MO in free agency, as well. Instead of waiting three days to sign a handful of mid-level players to relatively small deals they’ve opened their 2023 free agency with a bang, signing a high-impact defender for a ton of money on Day 1.
Last night it was reported Seattle is signing former Broncos defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones (who confirmed the news) to a three-year, $51 million contract. That’s an earth-shaking kind of deal for a front office that had never gone over $10 million per year for any outside free agents. So, what does it all mean? Here are four takeaways from the signing.
1
A significantly improved defensive line
First and foremost, Seattle’s defense is getting a serious disrupter up front. Jones may not be on the same level as Aaron Donald or Chris Jones, but he’s proven he can consistently manufacture interior pressure. Over the last three seasons Jones has totaled at least 5.5 sacks, 10 QB hits and 16 pressures. He’s also able to make an impact at multiple spots. Most of all, at just 26 years old his best football should still be ahead of him.
2
Forget about Jalen Carter
One thing this signing makes abundantly clear: the Seahawks are out of the Jalen Carter sweepstakes. Even if he’s still on the board when they’re on the clock at No. 5 overall they won’t be picking him after having already used so many resources at the same position. They may yet pick another interior lineman later in the draft (likely Day 3) but fans can officially forget about drafting any highly-ranked DT prospects.
3
Not much room for other free agents
The size of Jones’ deal is a pretty big surprise given Seattle’s stingy history in free agency under Pete Carroll and John Schneider. The deal is also pretty heavily front-loaded, with Jones getting $23.5 million in Year 1 according to NFL Network. We’ll have to wait and see what his official cap number is, but suffice to say there won’t be much space left to sign anybody else this year outside of depth pieces.
4
Poona Ford likely out of the picture
We can also safely assume that the Seahawks won’t be bringing back DT Poona Ford. He had a cap hit over $10 million this past season and there’s simply not enough room to re-sign him anywhere near that range. With Shelby Harris also on his way out, our new projected starters for the interior are Dre’Mont Jones, Al Woods, and Myles Adams.
