Getty Former Denver Broncos DL Dre'Mont Jones walking off the field against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones spent his first four seasons in the mile high city before signing a three year deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
According to James Palmer and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the deal is worth $51 million.
On March 17, Jones went on Seattle Sports 710 and talked about what it was like playing in Denver last season.
“To keep it short, it was a lot more hectic than any of us probably wanted it to be,” Jones said. “It was just too much going on, a lot of drama that was unnecessary.”
Jones continued, “Football didn’t seem as important as it needed to be at one point, and that sucks because that’s coming from a place that I really grew to appreciate.”
After Jones made his comments, the former Bronco posted a farewell post to Broncos Country.
Thank you Bronco’s organization and community for the last 4 years. The hardest part will be leaving behind the relationships that I’ve made in that building. Denver gave me my first opportunity and I’m forever thankful to the city. I loved the ups and downs we shared. Take care!
How the Deal Got Done in Seattle
Entering the offseason, the Broncos had the opportunity to place a franchise tag on Jones that would’ve cost them up to $19.7 million, but Denver decided not to.
On February 28, Broncos general manager George Paton spoke to the media at the NFL Combine and said that conversations were good with Jones’ agent.
“I’ve spoken with his agent, Kyle McCarthy from Athletes First. I’ve had a number of conversations with Dre’Mont. Dre’Mont’s a very good player. He’s one of our core players on defense. So, it’s been very positive.”
According to Troy Renck of Denver7, the Broncos were expected to prioritize re-signing Jones the week of the combine.
Jones was asked during his radio interview if conversations amped up between his agent and the Seahawks at the combine.
“There wasn’t much traction from my belief at the combine.”
So what went wrong with the negotiations with the Broncos?
“I don’t wanna make things sound negative, but Denver was kind of playing games. Seattle came calling in and they kind of presented us with their idea what they wanted me to do and the total amount and we just rolled with that,” Jones said.
Jones mentioned that he didn’t think he was going to end up in Seattle and said, “They kind of came in hot and out of nowhere and I appreciate it.”
Jones Had a Career Year in 2022
While playing on the final year of his rookie contract, it came as no surprise that Jones would have the best season of his young NFL career.
Last season, Jones tied his career high in sacks with 6.5, tackle for losses with nine, and 10 quarterback hits. Jones also had a career-high 47 combined tackles.
Over the past three seasons, Jones has sacked the quarterback 18 times in 42 games.
It’s worth noting that Jones had 5.5 sacks in 2022 before the Broncos traded away pass rusher Bradley Chubb. After the trade, Jones had just one sack in five games before being placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hip injury.
Jones would miss the final four games of the season.
Denver replaced Jones with former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Zach Allen.
The Broncos signed Allen a three year deal worth $45.7 million with $32.5 million of it guaranteed.
Last season, Allen had the best season of his career by sacking the quarterback a career high 5.5 times, hitting the quarterback 20 times, and had a career best 10 tackles for loss. Allen also knocked down eight passes which is twice as many as he had the previous year.
When it came to stopping the run, Allen ranked as the second-best behind on future hall of famer Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.