Mike Macdonald clearly doesn't want Seahawks trade addition to be a rental

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has made it clear that he wants to keep linebacker Ernest Jones IV in Seattle for a long time.

Seattle traded linebacker Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for Jones. He has played three games thus far for Seattle and has made a tremendous impact on the Seahawks' defense. They started the season desperately in need of a linebacker who could help strengthen their run defense and they've done just that.

Since adding Jones, the Seahawks have given up less yardage on defense. This past week, Jones played an integral part in holding the San Francisco 49ers to a season-low of 277 total yards. He also led the teams in 13 tackles.

During the first eight games of the season, the Seahawks' defense were allowing 5.3 yards per carry and 130.4 rushing yards per game. Since, they have allowed 3.6 yards per carry and 80 rushing yards per game.

Former Seahawks linebacker Dave Wyman says he hasn't seen anyone since Bobby Wagner elevate this defense like Jones has. He said, "I haven’t seen this kind of play at inside linebacker since Bobby in Year 8 or 9 (2019 or 2020) around here. It’s amazing how he’s elevated the play here. When Ernest Jones got here, I was like, ‘Maybe he’ll make taking on guards cool again.’ And I was making that as kind of a joke, but it’s a culture shift. It’s like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing in this room. We’re not going around blocks. We’re not going underneath blocks.’"

Mike Macdonald wants to keep Ernest Jones IV with Seahawks

Jones is in his final year of his rookie contract. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in third-round of the 2021 NFL Draft and was traded to the Titans back in August. Now he resides in Seattle and is hoping to stay long-term.

Jones mentioned his wife and infant son as one of his reasons to settle in Seattle. He said, "The whole time I'm just thinking about my son and my wife. Sitting on that plane, I don't want to put them through this again. So even though getting traded wasn't always on me, I'm ready to go play football so I can go out here and show not only the Seahawks but show that I am what I say I am."

Macdonald added to that, recently saying, "I can tell you that we’re really excited about Ernest. And I hope there’s an opportunity for him to be here for an extended period of time". Macdonald added he's just not quite sure when that will take place.

Hopefully, the Seahawks will lock up Jones soon as he has completely helped transcend Seattle's defense and maybe even helped the team in turning their season around.