Dre’Mont Jones joins Seahawks with chip on his shoulder

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 11, 2023

By Gregg Bell / The News Tribune

Intentionally or not, Dre’Mont Jones knows how to become instantly popular around Seattle.

And intentionally or not, coach Pete Carroll has added yet another player with a Mount Rainier-sized chip on his shoulder.

All this, months before Jones’ first Seahawks game.

General manager John Schneider said last month he and the Seahawks wanted Jones last year to be part of Seattle’s blockbuster trade of Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. But instead of the then-25-year-old defensive linemen, the Seahawks got 31-year-old Shelby Harris plus quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and five draft choices.

Yes, Schneider wanted Jones 13 months ago.

“They were not willing to part with him,” the GM told KIRO-AM radio last month, of Jones with the Broncos.

They were willing to this winter.

The Broncos let Jones’ rookie contract end following the 2022 season.

How much did the Seahawks covet the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Jones, one of the NFL’s most productive young defensive linemen in recent seasons, for their overhaul of a faulty defensive front this offseason?

Schneider and Seattle gave Jones a three-year contract worth $51.5 million last month on the first day of free agency. The deal has a possible total of $51.53 million. He is to earn $23.5 million in the first year, and $35.02 million over the next two years. Jones’ salary-cap charge for 2023 of $10.06 million is just behind that of Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith ($10.1 million) for sixth-highest on the team.

Jones said the Seahawks came in late at the end of a long, twisting first day of free agency in which he received interest from multiple teams.

“Almost out of nowhere … Seattle came in hot,” he said.

“That kind of motivated me to come here more and more.”

It was the rich splash in the first free-agent wave the Seahawks have almost never made in 13 years with Carroll and Schneider running them.

“I mean, sh(oo)t, they should have just traded me from the jump,” Jones said of the Broncos Monday in an online Zoom call from Seahawks headquarters in Renton.

“I was included in the (Wilson) trade. Denver said no. And then, Denver kind of … I don’t want to say that word — but Denver didn’t pay me my proper respects.

“So, I’m here, because (the Seahawks) they respected me from the jump.”

Jones also said: “I’ve always get, like, overshadowed and overlooked … in something, you know what I’m saying? I feel like I do a lot more than can be seen by the eyes of the inexperienced scout, and I do a lot of dynamic, different things that help make plays for others. I’m definitely an active player. I’m always doing something, whether it’s in the run or pass game.

“I think that goes unnoticed sometimes. And I’m looking forward to putting people on notice.”

Jones hasn’t had glowing things to say about the end of his four seasons in Denver last year.

“To keep it short, it was a lot more hectic than any of us probably wanted it to be,” Jones said last month on Seattle 710 Sports of Denver’s 2022 season with Wilson.

The Broncos finished 5-12. Wilson had the worst season of his career. First-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett didn’t last the entire season before he got fired.

And the Seahawks watched it all with smiles. Thanks to Denver’s face-plant, Seattle has the fifth pick from the Broncos in this month’s NFL draft.

“It was probably more hectic than what I’d like it to be. Just too much going on,” Jones said last month on 710 AM. “There was a lot of drama. Unnecessary. Football didn’t seem as important as it needed to be at one point — and that sucks, because that’s coming from a place that I really grew to appreciate.”

Bagging on the Broncos? Not liking the drama after Wilson arrived? Carrying that chip on his shoulder from Denver to Seattle?

The native of Cleveland already fits right into the Pacific Northwest.

The Broncos drafted Jones out of Ohio State in the third round in 2019. They had him as a defensive tackle over the center, basically a nose tackle, his rookie season in Denver’s 3-4 scheme, the same system to which Seattle changed last year. The Broncos then moved him outside to more of a three- and five-technique tackle and end, inside and outside the shoulder of the opposing offensive tackle.

He flourished. Jones has had at least 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss each of the last three seasons. Last season he tied his career highs with 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss, despite playing in only 13 of 17 games. He missed the final four games of last season with a hip injury in December. He did not need surgery for it.

He said the Seahawks’ coaches have yet to define exactly what role he will have in Seattle. But it’s likely to be a younger, faster, more dynamic version of what Harris did playing opposite offensive tackles for the Seahawks last season.

“I’m definitely more comfortable in a shaded position, mainly three technique and five technique,” Jones said, meaning off the shoulder of the offensive tackle. “That’s where I’ve found myself to be more comfortable, whether I’m standing up or not.

“Whether it’s run or pass, those seem to be my best fits.”

Denver chose not to re-sign Jones or use a franchise tag that would have a salary of $19 million guaranteed for 2023.

“I like to attack…I’m always trying to apply pressure,” he said. “I’m definitely just a high-motor guy, in my opinion.”