RENTON, Wash. – Being traded during the middle of a season in the NFL comes with plenty of complications. Players have to quickly hitch a flight to begin practicing with their new team and rapidly begin learning a new playbook to ready themselves to play as soon as possible.

But away from obvious job related tasks, as new Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV has now had to experience twice in less than two months, getting traded puts a tremendous amount of stress on the player’s family. That’s especially true for the 24-year old defender and his wife Tyra, welcomed their first child Ernest V before the start of the season and before the Los Angeles Rams initially traded him to the Tennessee Titans in late August, adding another challenge to the equation.

While uprooting his family for the second time in a matter of months has been a mental battle for Jones this week, however, this latest move has the blessing of his wife. Happy to be back in the NFC West playing on the “good side” after playing in Seattle numerous times with the Rams, he’s eager to show what he can do after the Seahawks traded for him on Wednesday with hopes of receiving a lucrative extension and making the Pacific Northwest his long-term home.

“I love to be in Seattle,” Jones told reporters in his introductory press conference prior to Thursday’s practice. “My wife’s happy. She’s back into where there’s a little city vibe, so she’s happy. I’m good and I’m going to do whatever I can to be on this team for the long haul if that’s where they see me and fitting in. From there, we work out everything else.”

In many ways, Jones’ latest change of scenery comes with unexpected perks for an abrupt midseason trade. Aside from joining a Seattle squad currently in first place in the NFC West and in the hunt to win a division title, he expects his transition on the field should be a smooth one playing for coach Mike Macdonald, whose scheme has carry over from the system he played in at Tennessee for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who worked on Baltimore’s staff with Macdonald last season.

Per Macdonald on Wednesday, Jones will take over as the Seahawks new middle linebacker, while veteran Tyrel Dodson will slide to the weakside linebacker spot left vacant by the departure of Jerome Baker, who was sent to the Titans along with a 2025 fourth-round pick as part of the trade.

In addition, in an instance rarely ever seen in the NFL, Jones will be playing against the same opponent for the second consecutive week, as the Titans lost to the Bills last weekend in his final game with the team and the Seahawks will now host the Bills at Lumen Field on Sunday. While his new team will have some differences in game planning that he will have to adjust to, such circumstances should ease the learning curve having already faced off against Josh Allen and company less than a week ago.

If anything, Macdonald may have the benefit of picking Jones’ brain to help enhance Seattle’s game plan based on what worked well for Tennessee last week, making it a potential win-win for all parties.

“I think it definitely helps with the transition,” Jones remarked. “You got a good idea of what they’re going to come out there and do. You just played them a couple of days ago, so you’re familiar with them. They’re also familiar with you. So correct some wrongs that I had in that game and then go out there and help this team win.”

Now in his fourth season, Jones relishes the chance to take the mantle from future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner in the middle. Having learned from the perennial All-Pro when they played together in Los Angeles in 2022, he wants to not only live up to the standard his former teammate set during his 11 seasons starring in the Pacific Northwest, but he wants to “surpass it” as the new face in the middle for the Seahawks.

Such lofty goals may seem unfathomable given Wagner’s status as one of the best players of his era, but Jones has already proven himself as one of the NFL’s best young linebackers. After eclipsing 100 tackles for the first time while playing alongside Wagner two years ago, he enjoyed a career year with the Rams in 2023, racking up 145 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 33 pressures, 14 tackles for loss, and six passes defensed, helping guide the team back to the playoffs while stuffing the stat sheet.

Though his overall numbers have been down in comparison this season with the Titans, Jones still produced 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a pair of passes defensed in six games before learning he had been traded again on Wednesday, playing an integral role in the team currently ranking sixth in rushing yards allowed and fourth in yards per carry allowed through Week 7.

A reliable tackler who can make plays sideline to sideline defending the run while also offering elite blitzing skills as a pass rusher, the Seahawks will be counting on Jones to have a similar impact for their defense, which has struggled mightily stopping opposing run games most of this season. During a three-game losing streak from Week 4 to Week 6, they allowed north of 170 rushing yards per game, with Macdonald citing poor run fits from the second level and missed tackles as the primary culprits for those results.

Based on his prior record, Jones should be able to immediately help with both of those issues. Per Pro Football Focus, he only has missed three tackles in the first six games this season and posted a 7.5 percent missed tackle rate last year, which ranked 13th out of 59 qualified off-ball linebackers. He also earned an elite 90.0 run defense grade, fifth-best at his position.

Confident in his ability between the lines and his presence in the locker room, Jones has wasted little time diving into a new playbook in a new city, excited for the opportunity to prove his worth once again in the heat of a playoff race. With his midseason audition set to kick off on Sunday and much at stake for his family’s future, he’s ready to put everything on the line to help the Seahawks push for a division title and secure a long-term home in the process.

“I’m a dog. That’s what you’re getting. Getting a dog, getting somebody that’s a leader, a true leader. I’m going to go out there each and every week, put my body on the line for my teammates, for this organization, and my family.” 

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