In his first NFL game, in fact on his first NFL snap, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Nazair Jones made quite the impression by intercepting a pass from Aaron Rodgers and returning it 64 yards for a touchdown back in September of 2017.
The touchdown may have been nullified by a block in the back, but the interception stood and, more importantly, it looked like the Seahawks had themselves a star in the making on the defensive line.
Now, less than three years later, Jones has been waived with a failed physical designation, part of four cuts the team made to accomodate 12 new rookie undrafted free agent signings.
Jones finished 2017 with stellar numbers, recording 19 combined tackles and two sacks in 11 games, but he regressed considerably in 2018 – only appearing in nine games and making just seven combined tackles.
The plan in 2019 was for him to make the transition to defensive end, where he would compete at five-tech. However, a knee injury prevented him from seeing the field at all in 2019, and is apparently bad enough for the team to give him the axe before training camp even begins.
Seattle’s depth on the interior defensive line was already thin and is now even thinner without Jones. Jarran Reed and Poona Ford will be the starters, but outside of that only Bryan Mone, an undrafted free agent in 2019, has any NFL experience on the roster.
A veteran signing, like they’ve done in the past with Al Woods and Shamar Stephen, seems all but certain – and a few names they could consider include Mike Daniels, Damon Harrison, and Brandon Mebane.
Jones’ career in Seattle started out with a bang, but unfortunately ends before it ever really got going, leaving Seattle’s 2017 draft class even less represented on the active roster.
