Jones and Babineaux Return

Julius Jones will be carrying the football again this season for Seattle after all. And regardless of what happened over the weekend, Jordan Babineaux will be back, too.

As the roster continues to shuffle only days before the opener, the Seahawks have opted to retain both Jones and Babineaux for the upcoming season. Both players have agreed to restructure their contracts to remain with the football team.

Many fans are happy that Big Play Babs will return for another season, but there isn’t quite as much excitement for the return of Jones. Many observers have been critical of Jones, who will continue to split carries with Justin Forsett and Leon Washington.

Jones shows some promise in a zone-blocking scheme, and excels in pass protection in obvious passing situations. He doesn’t have a flashy style of running like Leon Washington, but he adds quality depth to Seattle’s backfield. He doesn’t possess pass-catching skills or the ability to run through traffic like Justin Forsett, but he brings veteran leadership and consistency to a young group of backs.

Just like everyone else, I don’t want Julius Jones to take carries away from Forsett or Washington. I’d prefer him as a situational backup and occasional runner.

But with a restructured deal, I don’t see a problem retaining Jones for at least another year and additional, quality depth is developed.

For Jordan Babineaux, I feel the same way. He should be much more effective in situational roles than he was as a starting safety last season. With new talent in the defensive backfield, Babineaux will likely be limited to nickel packages and sporadic relief for starters. He can play multiple positions for the Seahawks and will allow the team to show several different looks on defense.

The only negative to bringing back Babineaux (with a restructured deal) is cutting another player to create space on the roster.

To make room for the addition of Babineaux, the Seahawks released veteran defensive tackle Craig Terrill. Terrill had been with the team for six seasons, always contributing as a third or fourth option in a rotation of defensive linemen. Terrill proved his worth as a backup three-technique; not a great player, but valuable depth in the trenches.

Terrill should find another home soon in the National Football League; the way the Seahawks have been shuffling the roster, it wouldn’t be crazy to see him back in Seattle in a few days.

Shaun Dolence: dolencesm@gmail.com
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