The good news for the Seattle Seahawks is that they handled the Washington Commanders with ridiculous ease to improve to 6-2. The bad news is it came at the cost of their star linebacker, Ernest Jones IV.
Jones was rolled up on late in the second quarter, departing the game early with a right knee injury. He did not return and looked to be in frustration while on the sidelines. Upon returning from the locker room, Jones was in street clothes but seemingly in good spirits. Obviously that’s not enough
to know whether or not Jones will miss time.
In Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s post-game press conference, he was inevitably asked about Jones’ injury, and it looks like the worst case scenario has been avoided. There’s still major ambiguity about how much time he’ll miss.
Jones is a massive part of Seattle’s defense, so losing him for any period of time stings. In his absence, Drake Thomas became the green-dot linebacker, while Tyrice Knight returned to his weakside role he previously ceded to Thomas. Seattle’s linebacker depth below those two would consist of Chazz Surratt, Patrick O’Connell (practice squad), and rookie Pooh Paul Jr (practice squad).
It may be worth watching whether or not the Seahawks make any calls about acquiring an off-ball linebacker before Tuesday afternoon’s deadline.
