The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans pulled off a trade almost exactly a year ago.
On Oct. 23, 2024, the Seahawks got Ernest Jones IV from the Titans for Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick.
The swap of two linebackers was a bit unexpected.
At the time, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell gave the Titans an A- grade and the Seahawks a B- grade.
On Tuesday, Barnwell put out a re-grade of the deal and gave both teams a B+.
Jones has done what he was supposed to do for Seattle.
“My issue from Seattle’s perspective remains the same as it was a year ago — a fourth-round pick and Baker was a steep price,” Barnwell wrote on Tuesday. “While re-signing Jones took out the short-term aspect of the deal, the Seahawks could have feasibly signed him as a free agent in the offseason and kept the draft pick (though his contract might have been more expensive if they went that route). But looking at pure results, it’s hard to argue with the Seattle’s uptick in run-stopping since bringing on Jones.”
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For the Titans, it was a good way to get off of contract-year Jones and return value.
Baker left for the Cleveland Browns this offseason, but it still was a solid return for Tennessee.
“This was clearly a value move for the Titans,” Barnwell wrote on Tuesday. “With Tennessee out of contention and Jones a pending free agent, it made sense to acquire the draft capital it did. The Titans would not have earned a compensatory pick for Jones had they kept him, then let him walk in free agency, according to projections from OverTheCap.com. Even if they had re-signed him, he would hardly have made the current Titans contenders. This deal was, in retrospect, a win-win, even with Baker departing for the Browns in the offseason.”
Then and now, it wasn’t a headline move.
But it was one that both teams came away from feeling OK about.
