The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans have said yes to a linebacker trade ahead of Day 8 of the 2024 NFL regular season. Seattle will send linebacker Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick to Tennessee in exchange for linebacker Ernest Jones IV . The Titans did respectable business Thursday.
Jones, a four-year veteran, has 44 tackles in six games. He is coming off a 2023 season that saw him reach career highs with 145 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 6 pass breakups. Jones heads to a Seahawks team that at 4-3 is currently in first place in the NFC West standings.
Baker, who was in the midst of his first season with Seattle, spent his first six seasons in Miami. Baker, a former third-round pick, is a seven-year veteran who has accumulated 23.5 sacks, 617 tackles, five interceptions and 23 pass deflections in 99 regular-season games. This season, Baker has recorded 30 tackles and one sack.
Baker will address a Titans workforce that has long been on offense with the Nov. 5 industry deadline approaching. Yesterday of the week, the Titans traded former All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins to two-time guards Kansas Town Chiefs. At 1-5, the Titans were one of several teams expected to be active before the league’s shutdown deadline.
So who received the industry? Here are our quick ratings for the transaction.
Seahawks: A-
As noted above, the Seahawks are looking down on the 49ers, Cardinals and Rams in the class standings, and it’s clear they want to stay there and then send Baker and a fourth-round pick to Nashville in exchange for Jones. . a rising player who should strengthen Seattle’s defense.
The Seahawks offense is off to a strong start under the direction of first-year coach Mike Macdonald. But the defense hasn’t been as good, especially against the run. Clearly, Seattle wasn’t happy with its defense and decided to build a competitive outing now before things start to escalate ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline.
However, giving up a fourth-round pick is negligible value, which is why the Seahawks didn’t get an “A” for this transaction. And the Seahawks obviously expect Jones to earn more for them than he did this season with the Titans.
Titans: B
By buying and selling Jones and Hopkins, the Titans are sending a bright message that they are actively looking to improve on their past momentum and not completely squander the opportunity to be a competitive team for the remainder of this season. Through the purchase and sale of Hopkins, the Titans freed up salary cap space and obtained a past mid-round pick. The Jones trade gave them another mid-round pick, plus they landed a fertile linebacker in Baker, who, like Jones, may still be in his prime.
He’s also the underdog player, but Baker is still a solid defender who will be a nice addition to the Titans’ defense. However, the tidbit here is that the Titans were willing to part ways with the 24-year-old Jones, who was usually the only one in the middle of his first season with the team. But it appears the Titans are okay with this fluke moment and call Jones’ experience a misery.
It’s a cover story to say that without the Seahawks’ quality fighters, everyone else in the league is happier with this transaction than the man who sent Hopkins to the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
