Seattle lost a host of quality free agents over the past few days, but Ernest Jones IV knows that's part of the deal when you win.
There are a lot of harsh realities that NFL players face in the offseason, and one of them is the roster changes, which, for the Seattle Seahawks, most knew were coming.
With a handful of starters seeing their deals run out, that meant one of two things was going to happen.
An extension would be forthcoming from Seattle. Or the players would be on another team in 2026.
While the Seahawks managed to re-sign a handful of players as free agency began, they also lost some key pieces of their Super Bowl win.
Kenneth Walker, Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, and Coby Bryant are the main ones who are now on different teams with big contracts.
This is just part of the deal in the NFL. Not every player can return, especially when there is big money involved.
The first wave of free agency sees many teams overpay to get their players, and we saw that again this season, as several Seahawks signed big-money deals.
But for Seattle linebacker Erneest Jones IV, in an interview with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, he knows this is just a part of life, but stated that the team did its job as those players got what they deserved.
"First, before anything, I'd love to have them back on this team," Jones said. "I understand, man, we all got families to take care of, and honestly, that's what we did it for. We said it early on, we go out here and perform and win a Super Bowl, guys get paid.
"So to see us living out what we talked about, it's big, it's key, those guys deserve it. Now it does suck for the Seahawks because those are some really good football players. But in turn, you just got to trust the organization, trust the ability we have for the guys in that room, and let's just go play ball."
The NFL waits for no one, and with free agency humming along and the draft to come soon, there isn't much time to dwell on the offseason.
The Seahawks are now the hunted after climbing the NFL mountain last season.
That comes with its own set of challenges, and none more so than finding players to replace those who have left.
It won't be an easy thing to do, especially with only four draft picks (at the time of writing), but there is confidence the front office will do what it needs to in order to get the next set of pending free agents paid.