Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider doesn't make a lot of big mistakes. He's the only GM to ever have two versions of his team win a Super Bowl, albeit with a completely different roster and coaching staff. Schneider is elite at his job.
But he did make a mistake in signing defensive end Dre'Mont Jones in free agency in 2023. At the time, the contract was the most expensive Schneider had ever signed an external free agent to: three years and a maximum of $51.5 million. Jones wouldn't last all three seasons, however.
He was released before last year's free agency period after two unproductive seasons in the Pacific Northwest. In 2025, he spent time with two teams, the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, but he now plays for the team Seattle will face in Week 1: the New England Patriots.
Seattle Seahawks will be facing Dre'Mont Jones with the New England Patriots in Week 1
What is interesting is that Jones split his time between the two teams in 2025; he also had a career-high of seven sacks. 4.5 of those came with Tennessee, and he was less productive with the Ravens in the same number of games (nine).
Jones isn't a bad player, but he also isn't a transformative one. He also wasn't a fit with the Seahawks under either former head coach Pete Carroll in 2023 or current coach Mike Macdonald in 2024. Jones being a solid producer almost seems more like an accident than in how well he fits in a system.
He will start for the Patriots, a team trying to find a good rotation of edge rushers. If Jones is among the best that New England can do, quarterback Sam Darnold should have plenty of time to find open receivers and put up more points than New England can match. Jones could be extra motivated against Seattle, though, since the team gave up on him before winning the Super Bowl.
Seahawks fans wouldn't complain about that. Instead of Jones along the defensive line or as an edge rusher (he wasn't a great fit at either spot, Seattle has players such as Leonard Williams, Derick Hall, and DeMarcus Lawrence. All are far better than Jones and helped the defense reach a level that Jones would have kept it from.
But Dre'Mont Jones could have a couple of good plays against the Seattle Seahawks and feel vindicated. One game does not mean goodness for a full season, however. Jones will probably turn out to be the mediocre player for the Patriots that he was in Seattle. The Seahawks are obviously better off without him.
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