Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider doesn't make many mistakes, though everyone, no matter how great they are at their job, makes a few. One of the more recent ones is Seattle choosing not to aggressively re-sign linebacker Jordyn Brooks when he was a free agent in 2024.
Instead of bringing back Brooks and Bobby Wagner in head coach Mike Macdonald's first season in Seattle, the Seahawks chose to sign Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. By the middle of the season, both were gone. At least Baker was traded to the Tennessee Titans in return for Ernest Jones IV.
Brooks, meanwhile, signed with the Miami Dolphins for three years and as much as $26.25 million. That is a number that Seattle could have easily afforded.
Seattle Seahawks might regret not re-signing Jordyn Brooks in 2024
Jones has been special in Macdonald's scheme, including being named Second-Team All-Pro last season. Brooks was one better, though. The Dolphins linebacker led the NFL in tackles with 183 and was named First-Team All-Pro. He also had 3.5 sacks, his third straight season with at least three.
Brooks is a fast and powerful inside linebacker who doesn't miss tackles (he whiffed on just 5.2 percent of his attempts last season) and is elite at stopping the run. He's never been elite against the pass, but that might be his only flaw.
One might logically wonder if Brooks would be better in coverage under Macdonald's tutelage, but even if he wasn't, he would still offer much of what the head coach wants from his inside linebackers. Keeping Brooks also wouldn't have meant not acquiring Jones, either.
Seattle wasn't going to re-sign Wagner and could have signed Baker while keeping Brooks. As Baker wasn't working out, he could have been traded to the Titans for Jones. This would mean that the off-ball linebackers for the Seattle Seahawks could currently be Ernest Jones and Jordyn Brooks, likely the best inside linebacker duo in the NFL.
That, of course, never came to be, but it would have been elite. Next to Jones last season, and in 2026, will probably be Drake Thomas and, in a lesser role, Tyrice Knight. Thomas was good when finally getting a chance to play in 2025, but he isn't Brooks. Some see Brooks as better than Jones, too.
In a recent poll of league executives, coaches, and scouts by ESPN, Jordyn Brooks was ranked as the seventh-best inside linebacker. Stunningly, Ernest Jones wasn't ranked at all. He was only listed, along with Bobby Wagner, as having received a vote. This means he didn't merit an honorable mention.
The positive part is that Jones will likely be motivated by the snub. He will once again be very good as the green dot on the Seattle Seahawks defense. The only slight shame is that he won't be lining up next to Brooks.
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