It’s been a roller coaster year for Ernest Jones. The Rams traded him to the Titans in August, a shocking move that netted Los Angeles almost nothing in return. Then less than two months later, the Titans traded him to the Seahawks.
He made his debut with Seattle last week, playing every snap and recording a team-high 15 tackles. On Sunday, he’ll face his former team, the Rams, for the first time.
Chris Shula coached Jones during his time in Los Angeles, building a relationship with the standout linebacker. It’ll be odd for Shula to see Jones in a Seahawks uniform this weekend, but he’s been thinking about Ernest as a person during this unpredictable season.
“It’s weird. It’ll definitely be weird,” Jones said. “I thought about it when I saw the trade last week. You love the person. We will be connected and friends for life. He knows I’m here no matter what, forever, as long as he needs me. I just thought about his wife. He just had his baby. I just thought about him as a human, having to move twice in the same year. You feel for him. You hope he’s doing well, and you hope he’s in a great place.”
Jones has landed in a good spot with Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks, a team that will utilize his skill set properly in the middle of the defense. That already showed last week against the Bills when Jones stuffed the stat sheet, and he’ll try to do the same on Sunday against his former team.
“I know they’ve got really great coaches over there,” Shula added. “It hasn’t been necessarily weird yet this week because it’s kind of one of those things – the offense is playing him, so I’m not exactly seeing him on tape or playing against him. When we go out there for pregame warmups or whatever it is and I see him on the field, that’s definitely going to be a little bit weird.”
Jones was an impact player for the Rams since being drafted in the third round in 2021, which is what made their decision to move on from him so surprising. As a pending free agent, he’ll have a chance to pick his next team in 2025, unless the Seahawks like what they see and extend him before he hits the market.