Seahawks near deal for an offensive lineman. It doesn’t preclude the bigger gets they need
The Seahawks are about to add to their needy offensive line.
It could be only a start.
Seattle and 27-year-old free-agent Josh Jones were closing in Monday night on agreeing to a one-year contract. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report that, and that the contract is expected to be a maximum of $4.75 million.
Jones’ contract is likely not guaranteed. He agreed to it hours after the Seahawks got top free-agent quarterback Sam Darnold on a three-year, $100.5 million deal Monday.
This appears to a depth move, not one that takes Seattle out of contention to sign top free-agent guards Will Fries or Mekhi Becton, among other offensive linemen available. Guards and center are the Seahawks’ biggest needs.
That was as of Monday night, anyway. Fries, 26 from the Indianapolis Colts, agreed Tuesday morning to sign with the Minnesota Vikings. They also need guards. The Seahawks tried to sign him, among multiple other teams. He went to the Vikings, reportedly for just under $18 million per season.
Fries broke his tibia in early October, ending his 2024 season with the Colts. He made 22 starts in 2023 and ‘24, allowing just five sacks in those 22 games.
The Seahawks are likely — after the deal with Darnold, plus re-signing Ernest Jones and Jarran Reed for their defense Sunday — to have around $35-40 million under the 2025 NFL salary cap to spend in free agency.
Becton, 25, had a tumultuous start to his NFL career with the Jets after New York drafted the massive tackle (6 feet 7, 363 pounds) 11th overall in 2020. He revived his career with a strong 2024 season with the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles. Philadelphia moved him to guard, and he flourished.
New Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is installing an outside-zone run-blocking scheme that will demand interior linemen “run off the ball,” as coach Mike Macdonald said two weeks ago at the league’s scouting combine. They are seeking blockers with athleticism and lateral quickness more than road graders.
The Seahawks had been linked to Fries for weeks. They are letting 33-year-old veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson leave on an expired contract after one, ineffective season in Seattle. The team used three right guards last season before coaches liked how 2024 rookie sixth-round pick Sataoa Laumea played to finish the year.
Last year at the NFL combine Schneider said he believed guards were over-drafted and overpaid, relative to the talent at the position, in general.
Late last month, he was asked about that comment on KIRO-AM radio.
“The statement, I guess, is really not (about) a level of importance. It’s truly important. It’s highly valued,” Schneider said Feb. 22.
“But we still, to this day, because of the dearth of talent at the position, will overpay at that position and will overdraft at that position. We’ve been guilty of it, and we probably will be guilty of it in the future, as well. It’s just based on a level of talent.
“The philosophy is not, ‘We’re not going to overpay.’ We probably will because we have to. But you have to be smart with those decisions.”
The big (6-5, 339-pound) Jones has played every O-line position, on both sides, except center in his five NFL seasons. The first three of those years were with Arizona. The Cardinals drafted him in third round in 2020 out of the University of Houston.
Jones has been a full-time starter only 1-1/2 of his five NFL seasons. That was in 2021 and at the end of ‘22 season, both for Arizona. He has played 34% of his teams’ offensive snaps in his career.
The Cardinals traded him plus a seventh-round draft choice to Houston for a fifth-round pick at the end of the 2023 preseason. He played that year for the Texans. He played only 26% of Houston’s offensive snaps in his only season there.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s former Baltimore Ravens signed Jones as a free-agent for the 2024 season. He was a backup for them, too, playing just 5% of the Ravens’ offensive snaps.
He appears to be replacing departed George Fant, injured for much of last season, as the veteran “swing,” backup who can play on both sides of the offensive line.
The Seahawks are expected to announce Jones’ contract on Wednesday, the opening day of the free-agent market.
Monday was the first day of the negotiating period the NFL sets up for teams and free agents before the market officially opens.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 9:16 PM.
