Mike Macdonald made no bones about building the Seahawks in his image. Yes, Pete Carroll had been in Seattle for more than a dozen years and built a powerhouse that won one Super Bowl and made another. But Macdonald wasn't going to just keep the status quo, nor was he going to try to build Ravens 2.0 out on the West Coast, even if he had experienced tremendous success as the Ravens defensive coordinator.
The Seahawks' 2026 Super Bowl triumph, in Macdonald's second season, came from being bold. In Macdonald's first year, the Seahawks went 10-7 and just missed the playoffs — by all accounts, a good football team and a solid start to Macdonald's tenure. Macdonald didn't see it that way.
He fired Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator and brought in Klint Kubiak. Shortly before free agency began, the Seahawks released Tyler Lockett, and D.K. Metcalf requested a trade on the same day. Not only did the Seahawks trade Metcalf to the Steelers, but they also sent Geno Smith to the Raiders. It was going to be a new offense, one built more in line with how Macdonald envisioned that side of the ball. In came Sam Darnold, up stepped Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and on came the Super Bowl rings earlier this year.
But the Seahawks' championship was more powered by a truly dominant defense — Macdonald's side of the ball — and to see how two key figures of that unit came to be, we have to go back to two trades: one made right before Macdonald arrived, another shortly after.
Ahead of the Seahawks' "Sunday Night Football" matchup with the Chiefs, we look back on how Seattle came away with absolute steals in acquiring defensive lineman Leonard Williams and linebacker Ernest Jones.
The trades
Oct. 30, 2023:
Seahawks receive: DL Leonard Williams
Giants receive: 2024 second-round pick (S Tyler Nubin), 2025 fifth-round pick (OL Marcus Mbow)
With the Giants 2-6 in late October, they were looking to sell at the deadline. The 5-2 Seahawks were looking to buy, especially at pass rusher after Uchenna Nwosu's injury. Williams was in the final year of a three-year, $63 milion extension, and with the Giants having extended Dexter Lawrence the previous offseason, it looked unlikely they would also hand out a hefty deal to Williams, who was 30 at the time. The two teams consummated a deal, with the Giants taking on most of the remaining money on the agreement.
After the season, even though Carroll had moved on and Macdonald had arrived, Williams remained a priority for Seattle. The Seahawks signed him to a three-year, $64.5 million deal as free agency began.
Oct. 23, 2024:
Seahawks receive: LB Ernest Jones
Titans receive: LB Jerome Baker, 2025 fourth-round pick (TE Gunnar Helm)
This was the second trade in two whirlwind months for Jones. After playing an integral role for the Super Bowl-champion Rams as a rookie in 2021, he ascended to a starter in his second season and made 15 starts in his third year. But Jones and Los Angeles couldn't come to an extension after his third season, so the Rams shipped him and a sixth-round pick to the Titans for a fifth-round pick just before the start of the 2024 season.
But the Titans were a mess to start the season (and all season, frankly, finishing 3-14 and earning the No. 1 pick). At 1-5, they traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Chiefs and, later that day, sent Jones to the Seahawks. After losing Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner in free agency, Seattle had tried to fortify its linebacking corps with Baker and Tyrel Dodson on one-year deals, but it simply wasn't working out. The Titans got a linebacker to help finish out the season, plus a pick to build for the future in return.
Seattle, it turned out, had unearthed a star for the second trade deadline in as many years.
Williams, Jones turn into All-Pro performers
Playing alongside 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy, Williams was already making a big impact early in the 2024 season: 2.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits through six weeks. But the Seahawks defense was pretty middling overall and downright bad in some spots, including 28th in yards per carry allowed.
Macdonald was Baltimore's defensive coordinator when the Ravens acquired Roquan Smith from the Bears midseason. He knew a good linebacker could shape a defense, and while Jones wasn't Smith, Macdonald clearly saw him as an upgrade. It ended up being a huge one that impacted every aspect of the defense
Seahawks 2024 defense ranks
Before Jones trade
After Jones trade
EPA per play
16th
4th
Yards per rush
28th
13th
Net yards per attempt
15th
7th
Jones was everywhere, racking up 94 tackles in just 10 games for Seattle. He had an interception, a forced fumble and half a sack. Though it wasn't quite enough for Seattle to make the playoffs, Macdonald could feel confident he had found his man in the middle. Williams registered 11 sacks, one-half sack short of his career high, and a career-high 16 tackles for loss.
The Seahawks gave Jones a three-year, $33 million extension ahead of free agency. The strong defensive unit as a whole proved to be a precursor to what was to come in 2025.
Macdonald doubled down on improving his defense after the 2024 offseason. The Seahawks signed DeMarcus Lawrence to bolster the edge and drafted do-it-all safety/defensive weapon Nick Emmanwori in the second round. The Murphy/Williams/Lawrence front became a wrecking crew, with Williams recording seven sacks and earning second-team All-Pro honors, the first of his career. He got an extension in the offseason and has three more sacks this year already.
Jones was also a second-team All-Pro, having gone from a player two teams moved on from to a vital piece of arguably the league's most dominant unit. His five interceptions last year were tied for the most by any linebacker and one more than he had in his first four seasons combined. He has another interception and three sacks — 1.5 shy of his career high — already this year.
This week, both will be key in slowing down Kenneth Walker III, their former teammate, who leads the NFL in rushing yards.
How did Giants, Titans fare in trade returns?
The most important thing to acknowledge in assessing how the Giants and Titans did is realizing that Williams and Jones wouldn't have had the same impact on their respective former teams. Macdonald is one of the game's brightest defensive minds, able to put his players in positions to succeed and develop talent everywhere. Speaking to "Hard Knocks" this offseason, Williams' wife even said Williams might have retired had he stayed with New York.
The Giants' considerable trade return netted Nubin, who has been a solid player when healthy. He's had a few injuries so far in his career, but he had 98 tackles as a rookie and 78 tackles — plus seven for loss — last year. He looks like a potential long-term starter or contributor. Mbow played in 13 games as a rookie (three starts) and has appeared in six games (one start) this season. He's mostly a special teams contributor and a depth option on the offensive line.
The Titans moved on from Baker after the 2024 season. He spent 2025 with Cleveland and is not currently on a team. Helm had some nice moments across a 44-catch rookie season, but he has just nine catches in six games this year. He looks like a low-level starter or solid No. 2 tight end.
