It's April of 2023, but the drama around Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson's trade from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos, which occurred in March of 2022, never ends. Seattle Seahawks 2023 free agent signee and defensive end Dre'mont Jones, who joined the team on a three-year, $51 million contract this offseason, could have been a Seahawk last offseason.
He revealed at his introductory press conference Monday that Seattle initially wanted him included in the package of assets sent to them in exchange for Wilson. Instead, the Seahawks ended up receiving three players (QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant and DL Shelby Harris) along with five draft picks (two firsts, two seconds and one fifth). Jones voiced his frustration with the Broncos excluding him from the trade and then not signing him to a contract that he would have viewed as respectable.
"I mean, shit, they should have just traded me from the jump," Jones said, via the Tacoma News Tribune. "I was included in the trade. Denver said no . . . Denver didn't pay me my proper respects, so I'm here because they respected me from the jump."
The 26-year-old has recorded a minimum of 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in every season since 2020 after shifting to the defensive end spot from defensive tackle after his rookie year in 2019. Last season, Jones had a career year with 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss. He joins a Seattle squad set to improve in a big way through the 2023 NFL Draft this month since the Seahawks are in possession of four picks in the first two rounds, their own and the Broncos'. Denver's first- and second-round picks that belong to the Seahawks are the fifth pick in each of the opening two rounds.
