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brady hendersonESPN
The Seattle Seahawks are making a rare splash in the first wave of free agency to address their biggest position group of needs.
He revealed that the team has signed former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Dremont Jones to a three-year deal. CBS Sports Monday night.
According to The Score, the deal is worth $51 million. This easily makes it the largest contract the Seahawks have ever given to a free agent from another team under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider in terms of annual average, surpassing the $9.5 million average of the deal awarded to Uchena Namosu last year. was above
Schneider spoke candidly at the NFL Scouting Combine last week after the Seahawks allowed the third-most rushing yards per game of any team last season and ranked 28th in Rush Win Rate by ESPN The front seven of Seattle’s defense needed to improve.
“I think we have to be much better,” said Schneider. “Yeah, we need to be better up front. I think that was pretty obvious. We were on the ground too much. We didn’t defend the run really well. We had a few games out there. [when] We did a great job. And we had several games that didn’t go so well. We know what the issues are and we are ready to attack and fix them.”
Jones led the Broncos with 6.5 sacks this season despite missing the final four games of the season with a hip injury that required surgery. He was moved to injured reserve on December 11.
Armed to find the difficulty-size combination at 281 pounds, Jones, who turns 26 in January, has shown an ability to push inside the pocket in nickel rush situations and go into last place on early downs.
His potential versatility for a 3-4 or 4-3 defense — the Broncos played a 3-4 base in each of his four seasons — make him an intriguing option. This past season, he played 451 snaps at defensive tackle and 224 at end, with four of his sacks lined up along the sidelines.
Jones has disruptive upside as a pass-rusher with first-step quickness and short-area juice. He had the best rush win rate in 2022, ranking sixth among all defenders (15.9%).
The Broncos’ third-round pick in 2019, Jones was a regular in his first four seasons in Denver, but he started more than seven games for the first time in 2022. Total tied its 2020 high.
Broncos general manager George Payton said last season that he hoped to re-sign Jones, calling him “one of our core players”.
ESPN’s Jeff Laegvold and Matt Bowen contributed to this report.
