Seahawks Signing DT Dre'Mont Jones a Surprise for GM John Schneider?

The Seattle Seahawks turned heads by signing former Denver Broncos defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones in free agency - but according to Seahawks general manager John Schneider, the team didn't anticipate being able to join the pursuit of Jones.

The Seattle Seahawks entered this offseason in need of help on the defensive front and secured it in a big way - literally - by signing former Denver Broncos defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones in free agency.

But according to Seahawks general manager John Schneider, the process that landed Jones came as a surprise - albeit certainly a pleasant one.

“I didn’t think we’d have a chance at him,” Schneider said at the owner's meetings via the Seattle Times.

Seattle gave Jones a three-year, $51 million contract with $23 million fully guaranteed at signing and $30 million guaranteed in total.

The 26-year-old Jones is coming off a stout season in which he recorded six and a half sacks, nine tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits across 13 games, all starts.

As a result, the Seahawks anticipated that Jones, who stands 6-3, 281 pounds, would command a larger payday than he did ... but things fell into place to bring the former Ohio State star to the Pacific Northwest.

“We thought his market would be even stronger than it ended up being," Schneider said. "Quite honestly, we got in later on in the day. It just kind of happened. We had been in contact early in the day and had been working on something else that kind of led to that.”

Regardless of how or what, the Seahawks landed a potential difference-maker on the defensive front; Jones has 18 and a half sacks, 25 tackles for loss and 32 quarterback hits over the past three seasons and is still ascending.

And for that, Seattle's grateful - even if it didn't anticipate having a "chance" at Jones entering the free agency period.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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