The Seattle Seahawks may be back in the playoff race, but next offseason will be a critical one in determining just how far this team can go in the early years of the Mike Macdonald era. At the top of the list we know they’ll have to do is finally make a real investment in their offensive line, but there are a few other positions of need, as well.
One position that they absolutely do not need more depth at is cornerback, where they’re about as well setup as any team in the NFL right now. Devon Witherspoon is a baller in the slot, Riq Woolen is shutting it down on the right boundary and in Josh Jobe they may have found a surprise breakout star to replace Tre Brown when his contract runs out at the end of this current season.
Nevertheless, some folks think this team could use another corner. According to Bleacher Report, they’ll target New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones in free agency next March.
“31-year-old Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones might be available at a much more team-friendly price point. While the nine-year veteran has struggled more than usual this season, he’s been a dependable cover man in the past… There’s obviously no guarantee Jones will return to his previous form, but he’d fit financially. Until/unless John Schneider creates some additional cap space, Seattle will be limited to budget free-agent options.”
At one point it would have been nice to think about signing Jones, but we’re well past that now. While he wouldn’t be terribly expensive to sign at this stage of his career, there’s good reason for that. Once one of the league’s most-underrated cover corners, Jones’ game has dropped off significantly over the last two and a half seasons. In 11 games this year he’s already given up four touchdowns and a 139.5 passer rating.
Compare that with Jobe, who has only allowed a 50% completion rate, zero touchdowns and a 57.2 passer rating in coverage this year. Jobe is also only 26 years old and as a former undrafted free agent his price-tag will likely be lower than Jones’ if and when he hits the market next year. The Seahawks’ priority should be re-signing Jobe before that happens. If they’re going to sign any outside free agents next year, the priority has to be finding the best guards that they can possibly afford.
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