Source - Seahawks, LB Ernest Jones IV agree to three-year deal - ESPN

Traded twice in two months last season, Ernest Jones IV has found a home in Seattle.

The Seahawks and the fifth-year linebacker agreed to terms Sunday on a three-year deal worth up to $33 million that includes $15 million guaranteed, a source confirmed to ESPN. Jones returns to Seattle after helping transform the Seahawks' run defense following his arrival in a midseason trade.

The Seahawks agreed to a deal earlier Sunday with defensive tackle Jarran Reed as Seattle secured its top two free agents. Reed's deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter, is for three years and as much as $25 million.

Jones had what his agent Ira Turner described as a cleanup knee procedure after the season.

«It's the best thing to happen to Ernest since the trade to Seattle,» Turner wrote on X. «The doctors fixed a knee issue he's had for more than a year and he'll be healthy going forward.»

Jones, 25, was traded twice in two months last year — first from the Los Angeles Rams to the Tennessee Titans, then from Tennessee to the Seattle Seahawks — but appeared to find a home with Seattle.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald touted his strong fit in their defense. And Jones said multiple times he wanted to stay and expressed confidence after the season finale that the two sides would reach a deal.

The Rams selected Jones in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft out of South Carolina. He played his first three seasons in L.A., but after the two sides couldn't work out an extension, the Rams traded Jones and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Tennessee in August for a 2026 fifth-rounder.

With the Titans starting the season 1-5 and the Seahawks' run defense struggling, Seattle acquired him in October for a 2025 fourth-round pick and fellow linebacker Jerome Baker.