Mike McDonald: Ernest Jones is a really good football player

The Seahawks jumped on the trade market Wednesday when they sent fourth-round picks to the Titans for linebacker Jerome Baker and linebacker Ernest Jones.

It's a move that would return Jones to the division he played in his first three seasons. Jones was a 2021 third-round pick of the Rams and was traded to Tennessee this summer after falling out of the lineup in Los Angeles, but his early work with the Seahawks' division rivals caught the eye of head coach Mike McDonald.

McDonald said Wednesday that Jones caught his eye when he made a big impact as a rookie in Super Bowl LVI, and that he saw “a really good football player, all the way” while watching tape. MacDonald said he thinks it will help him transition quickly to his new team, and it helps that he is playing for Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who was on the same Ravens staff with MacDonald in 2023.

“I think so It is quite similar,” McDonald said, via the team's website. “Hopefully the language carries over a good bit, so the learning curve is flat. . . . I'm sure there's a lot of carryover.”

The Seahawks plan to move Tyrell Dodson to the weak side with Jones at middle linebacker, and they plan to deploy their new look for the first time against the Bills this weekend.