There were reasons that the Seattle Seahawks needed to move on from Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner. Whether those reasons were good enough to risk having a bad linebacker group in 2024 remains to be seen, though. Brooks and Wagner both left in free agency, and Seattle signed Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker.
Of the two players, Baker is probably the one the team can be sure of what they are going to get. He has been mostly a full-time starter since he entered the league in 2018. He had spent every year with the Miami Dolphins prior to coming to Seattle. The defensive scheme he played in the last couple of seasons matches the one Seattle is expected to run. His transition should be fairly easy.
Dodson only became a full-time starter in 2023 for the Buffalo Bills. If not for injuries, Dodson might have remained a backup. Once he got a chance to play, he excelled. Dodson was great in coverage, a good blitzer, and flashed fantastic athletic ability. He will go from presumed backup in Buffalo to the green dot on Seattle's defense.
This offseason, the Seahawks changed their coaching staff, of course. This means even veteran Seattle players are having to get used to a new scheme. What they do not have to get used to is knowing what other veteran Seahawks are capable of and what their tendencies are. First-year Seattle players have to learn about everything: New teammates, new design of whatever side of the ball they play on, and new coaching staff.
An important aspect of preparing for the beginning of any season is for the players to not think about what they are doing but to know the scheme so well they simply react. Cohesion is another important aspect. A player needs to know what they are supposed to do while also knowing their teammates on the field know that as well.
Working through any issues needs to happen as early as possible for players on a new team. Ideally, this would begin in OTAs and minicamp, well before training camp. That is not going to be the case with Dodson and Baker, however. Both are missing minicamp because of lower-body injuries that are not new. Seattle knew when Baker was signed in free agency this offseason, for instance, that he was hurt. The team hopes he can be ready by training camp.
Both Dodson and Baker were signed to one-year deals and there is no proven depth behind them. The Seahawks putting so much faith in players who are already missing practice because of injury is worrisome. Perhaps keeping Brooks instead of signing Dodson or Baker would have been wise. As things stand now, Seattle will just have to ride with what they have.
