Meet Josh Jones, the Seahawk most on the spot in this biggie against the Rams

It’s felt to Josh Jones like he hasn’t started in a while.

Because he hasn’t started in a while.

“Yeah, it feels like a long time,” the 28-year-old backup, swing tackle said Wednesday, chuckling.

“It has been a minute.”

He is starting now — in the Seahawks’ biggest game of the season.

Jones will make his first start for Seattle Thursday night, on its recently struggling offensive line. He will be the left tackle when the Seahawks (11-3) play the Los Angeles Rams (11-3) at Lumen Field for first place in the NFC West and the inside track to the top seed in next month’s conference playoffs.

Coach Mike Macdonald said Jones will start while announcing after practice Wednesday starting left tackle Charles Cross will miss the game with a hamstring injury. Cross got hurt on the game-winning field goal by Jason Myers in the final seconds of the Seahawks’ escape past the Indianapolis Colts last weekend.

Pete Carroll was Seattle’s coach the last time Jones started a regular-season game in the NFL. Thursday will be Jones’ first start in 27 months, since week three of the 2023 season for the Houston Texans at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was benched for the rest of that season in Houston.

He played at the University of Houston. The Arizona Cardinals selected him in the third round of 2020 draft. The 6-foot-7, 339-pound Jones made 21 starts over his first three NFL seasons for Arizona.

After his one season with the Texans he signed with Baltimore for the 2024 season. He’s been a special-teams player for the Ravens and the first 14 games of this season for Seattle the last two years.

The Seahawks signed him this past spring for exactly this role: backup, swing tackle and an experienced, spot starter when needed.

“I’m ready,” Jones said at his locker Wednesday.

“You know, I’ve been in this league a little while. It’s just football.”

They signed the veteran to a one-year contract this past spring from Baltimore for this role, the backup tackle who can play both sides — and for exactly this situation, being an experienced spot starter when necessary.

Jones played four snaps on offense last weekend when right tackle Abe Lucas left to get checked for a possible injury in the first half against the Colts. Lucas returned and finished the game, and is fine to start Thursday night. “I’ve played mostly left tackle my entire career,” Jones said, “so that’s the side I’m probably most comfortable on.”

Jones excelled in preseason games this past summer playing left tackle for Seattle. That was after Cross had surgery to repair a dislocated finger in August.

“He had most of those opportunities in preseason, and he did a great job filling in for Charles when he was going through his training-camp stuff,” coach Mike Macdonald said.

“Yeah, we’ve been working since then, shoot, ‘till now. We’ve been grinding the whole time,” Jones said of all the offensive linemen.

Jones is likely to face a sampling of the Rams’ entire defensive line. L.A. lists Kobie Turner as its right defensive end, opposite the offensive left tackle. But Turner moves inside to a tackle alignment over guards, too.

Turner wasn’t productive against Cross and Zabel in the first Seahawks-Rams game in Inglewood, California, last month. Turner had one tackle and no pressures or hits on quarterback Sam Darnold.

Los Angeles’ left defensive end Braden Fiske is questionable to play. He has an ankle injury. Former Seahawks Poona Ford, Tyler Davis, Larrell Murchison are others in L.A.’s rotation of defensive linemen Jones is likely to see Thursday night.

“They’ve got some good guys rushing the passer. Great front,” Jones said. “It’s an impressive game plan that they put together.

“So we’ve got to go out there and play some good ball.” That Rams game plan is likely to send blitzes and crossing stunts at Jones, to test him in his first start of the season. Seahawks line coaches John Benton and Rick Dennison may keep extra blockers such as tight ends AJ Barner and Eric Saubert plus a fullback in to chip block and help Jones on the left edge of the offense.

The chances rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts plays just went up. Ouzts was a healthy scratch for the first time this season last week, inactive for the Colts game. Macdonald said Wednesday that was because Seattle’s game plan for Indianapolis was to have an extra wide receiver and not use the fullback as much as offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had in the first 13 games.

With Jones subbing for the injured Cross, that may change.

“He’s got a great opportunity,” Macdonald said of Jones. “He’s prepared. Go out there and play your tail off, man. Let’s go roll.”