Getty The Seattle Seahawks could consider trading former starting cornerback Sidney Jones.
The Seattle Seahawks could find the perfect trade partner in a familiar division rival.
As proposed by Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger, the Seahawks should consider trading former starting cornerback Sidney Jones. As noted by Spielberger, they could find a potential landing spot in the Arizona Cardinals. In this proposed trade scenario, the Seahawks would trade Jones for a 2024 fifth-round draft pick.
With the Seahawks going through a youth movement — rookies Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen are seeing far more snaps than Jones — Seattle should probably seek a trade partner for the 26-year-old cornerback.
“Seattle has elected to fully embrace the youth movement across its entire roster, especially at cornerback, where rookies Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant have both played far more snaps than Jones,” says Spielberger. “Jones was a healthy scratch in Week 3.”
Cardinals Lacking in Viable Cornerbacks
Spielberger argues that the Cardinals — statistically they have the worst defensive backfield in the league — would provide an unlikely trade partner due to their desperation for a viable cornerback.
“Arizona’s cornerback group has the lowest collective grade of any team this season by almost a full 10 points, ranking dead last in coverage grade with a 38.5 mark and 30th in run defense with a 30.8 mark,” says Spielberger. “This trade would take place between two NFC West teams, and so we’ve accounted for perhaps a slightly higher price tag given the intradivisional component.”
The Cardinals’ starting cornerbacks, Byron Murphy Jr. (57.4 defensive grade) and Marco Wilson (37.3 defensive grade) aren’t exactly lighting it up. As noted by Spielberger, Jones actually ranked as one of the best cornerbacks in the league towards the end of the last season.
“The Seahawks re-signed Jones this offseason to a one-year, $3.6 million deal after a strong conclusion to the 2021 campaign for the former second-round pick out of Washington,” says Spielberger. “Serving as a full-time starter from Week 11 through the end of the season, Jones’ 80.6 coverage grade ranked 12th among cornerbacks, with his 20.7% forced incompletion percentage fifth and his 0.47 receiving yards allowed per coverage snap fourth.”
Jones Ranked as One of NFL’s Top Corners at End of 2021
The sixth-year veteran posted an above-average 70.2 defensive grade for the 2021 season, ranking 24th among all cornerbacks with at least 500 snaps, according to PFF. It’s clear that the Seahawks have no plans to use the veteran cornerback as they continue to go through a rebuilding season in 2022. Jones has played in just one game (in Week 1) and played just 12 snaps during that appearance.
Spielberger compares a possible trade involving Jones to the deal that Seattle made last season involving former cornerback Ahkello Weatherspoon.
“This move would be very similar to Seattle’s trade of cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason shortly after signing him to a one-year, $4 million deal, with the Seahawks recouping a 2023 fifth-round pick,” says Spielberger. “Jones, like Witherspoon, has the draft pedigree and stands at least 6-foot tall, making him attractive to most teams across the NFL for that alone.”
With Jones on a one-year deal and clearly possessing high upside, a fringe playoff squad such as the Cardinals could use the 26-year-old cornerback’s services.