In a 2025 NFL season where the NFC West is anyone's to take, the 5-2 Seattle Seahawks should be looking to make improvements at the trade deadline. Of course, a player like Riq Woolen could still be dealt, but by and large, the Seahawks should be buyers over the coming week.
Even if they can't get a major deal done, John Schneider and the front office should still be looking for ways to improve this football team, with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams lurking in the battle for the division.
This includes signing free agents, making claims on the waiver wire and even poaching players from other teams' practice squads. The Seahawks got going on that front on Tuesday, when they reportedly signed wide receiver/running back and return specialist Velus Jones Jr.
Seahawks reportedly sign wide receiver and returner Velus Jones Jr.
The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov was the first to break this news, although it has not been confirmed by any other reporters or the Seahawks themselves. However, if true, Seattle is getting a multi-dimensional player who can, theoretically, fill a variety of roles.
Once a 3rd-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2022 draft, and an entertaining character on HBO's Hard Knocks, Jones was released before his rookie contract was up. He then had brief stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers before signing with the New Orleans Saints.
Drafted as a wide receiver, Jones made his mark with the Bears as a return specialist. After all, he was once the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in college at Tennessee, but the Saints utilized him as a running back in the early part of this season.
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Jones is a bit of an odd signing, as the Seahawks don't really need help at running back with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet in tow, nor at wide receiver with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp on the roster, and rookie Tory Horton showing flashes.
Special teams-wise, they have their bases covered as well. Horton is leading the league with 238 punt return yards and a touchdown, Dareke Young leads the NFL with a kick return average of 32.2, and George Holani averages 25.6 yards per return as well.
In his four-year career, Jones has totaled just 103 rushing yards, 7 catches for 107 yards and a receiving touchdown, and 35 punt return yards, and he's fumbled 6 times. He did amass 1,042 kick return yards in his first two seasons, but has just 202 yards in the two years since his departure.
Perhaps a key part missing in Meirov's reporting is that Jones is merely a practice squad signing. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the Seahawks to take up a roster spot with a player whose track record is as spotty as Jones'. However, he could eventually turn into a nice depth piece in Seattle.