Seahawks Urged to Bench Veteran Defensive Starter ‘ASAP’

Getty The Seahawks could consider benching starting safety Josh Jones.

The Seattle Seahawks might have to bench a veteran starter to improve their defense.

According to Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, the Seahawks should bench starting strong safety Josh Jones “ASAP.” The 28-year-old is currently filling in for the injured Jamal Adams and is turning in a subpar performance, as Ballentine notes.

“The 28-year-old journeyman is playing like someone who is on his fifth NFL team,” says Ballentine. “He has yet to make any impact plays. He has no interceptions, tackles for loss or pass deflections. He has 18 tackles but has floundered in coverage. In three games, he has already allowed a touchdown with a passer rating allowed of 124.8.”

The Seahawks are currently lacking on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 20th in the league in points allowed per game (23.3 points). Seattle ranks second-to-last in passing yards per attempt allowed (7.8) and in adjusted yards per attempt allowed (8.9 yards).

“The 28-year-old journeyman is playing like someone who is on his fifth NFL team,” said Ballentine. “He has yet to make any impact plays. He has no interceptions, tackles for loss or pass deflections. He has 18 tackles but has floundered in coverage. In three games, he has already allowed a touchdown with a passer rating allowed of 124.8.”

Jones Has Never Been a Quality Starter

The sixth-year safety has actually only served once as a full-time starter during the 2020 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has started just 28 of his 61 games, beginning his career as a part-time starter with the Green Bay Packers during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jones is posting just a 44.8 defensive grade this season, ranking as one of the worst defensive starters in the league. Among all safeties (with at least 100 snaps), Jones ranks in the bottom five of defensive grade. Outside of his 2019 season — he only played nine defensive snaps that year — Jones has never posted higher than a 62.3 defensive grade in any single season during his career.

Ballentine argues that Jones’ lack of upside is a big reason why the Seahawks should bench the inconsistent starter immediately.

“For much of the Seahawks secondary, it’s an understandable product of playing young players,” says Ballentine. “Rookies like Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant are getting valuable experience. But Jones has already shown who he is and doesn’t have much upside.”

Seahawks’ Backup Could Emerge as Better Option

The Seahawks currently have the 26-year-old Ryan Neal as the primary backup to Jones. The former undrafted free agent started nine games with Seattle over the past two seasons, playing 42 percent of the defensive snaps during the 2020 season and 36 percent of the defensive snaps during the 2021 campaign. However, he’s been limited to just six defensive snaps through the first three games this year.

According to PFF, Neal posted a 59.6 defensive grade during the 2021 season and a 57.6 defensive grade during the 2020 season. Neal allowed an opposing passer rating of 139.0 last season and a passer rating of 86.8 during the 2020 campaign. In other words, Neal’s upside is potentially better than Jones, but his opposing passer rating was atrocious last season.

With Adams likely out for the remainder of the season due to a torn quadriceps injury, the Seahawks could bench Jones for the slightly younger and less experienced Neal if he continues to underperform.