Seattle Seahawks Restructure Dre'Mont Jones' Contract in Cap-Saving Move

Tight up against the cap after signing their latest rookie draft class, the Seahawks opened up more than $7 million in room by restructuring Dre'Mont Jones' current deal.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (55) celebrates after sacking Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) in the third quarter of the NFL Week 6 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. The Bengals improved to 3-3 on the season with a 17-13 at home. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

Seeking a bit more financial wiggle room before the start of the 2024 season, the Seattle Seahawks reportedly have restructured veteran defender Dre'Mont Jones' contract.

As reported by OverTheCap.com, the Seahawks turned $9.875 million of Jones' 2024 base salary into a signing bonus, creating more than $7 million in salary cap relief for the upcoming season by lowering his cap hit to $10.77 million. In a rare move by general manager John Schneider, the team also tacked on two void years at the end of the contract which hold $4.9 million cap charges for 2026 and 2027.

For anyone still speculating about Jones' immediate future in Seattle, the decision to restructure his contract all but guarantees he will be with the team next season, as cutting him would only open up $1.9 million in cap room with a hefty dead cap hit of close to $10 million.

Signed by the Seahawks in March 2023, Schneider handed Jones a three-year, $52 million contract, expecting the former Ohio State standout to arrive as an immediate difference maker for the defense. While he did rank in the top 25 among defensive linemen with 43 pressures last season, per Pro Football Focus charting, he only pitched in 4.5 sacks and didn't provide the type of impact expected of a player earning more than $15 million per year.

Entering his second season with the organization, coach Mike Macdonald has gushed about Jones' skill set and what he believes the 27-year old can accomplish in his defense. As evidenced at this week's two-day minicamp, after not participating in OTAs, he looks poised to play more snaps off the edge as an outside linebacker in Seattle's new defense, rotating in with Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe while also still seeing some snaps reduced inside on passing downs.

"We don't know how it's going to look come the beginning of the season, how it's going to progress throughout the whole year. I think his skillset lends to trying to play a little matchup ball with him or setting another guy up. He can do a lot of things," Macdonald said on Tuesday. "We've talked about it, but we are really excited about Dre'Mont. He was in great shape today. He knew a lot of the stuff we were doing even though he hadn't been in the building. Credit to him for staying up to speed."

As is always the case when the Seahawks restructure one of their star players to open up significant cap space, fans will speculate whether the move was made as a precursor for a free agent signing or a trade. However, Schneider has always preferred to have cap space flexibility going into the season in case the team wants to make a trade before the deadline as they did last year with Leonard Williams, so while an addition can't be ruled out, Jones' reworked deal doesn't guarantee that either.