RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks made another significant change to their inside linebacker group, releasing leading tackler Tyrel Dodson on Monday.
This move came shortly after the Seahawks returned from their bye week, following a stretch where they lost five of their last six games, dropping them to 4-5 and into last place in the NFC West. Coach Mike Macdonald had mentioned last week that “everything would be on the table” as the team assessed its performance during the break.
As part of this shake-up, the Seahawks had already made a change at inside linebacker, trading for Ernest Jones IV from the Tennessee Titans on October 23 in exchange for Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick. Baker had been playing on the weak side, but Dodson shifted to that position for the past two games to allow Jones to take over in the middle.
“We really appreciate T-Dot,” Macdonald said Monday. “He’s worked extremely hard and rehabbed all offseason. I think it was just an opportunity for us to take a step back and reassess where we were. Moving forward, we felt it was best to give others in the room a chance to step up. I hope they take that opportunity and run with it, and that it also gives Tyrel the chance to find another spot elsewhere and finish the season strong.”
The Seahawks had improved against the run in their recent overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, holding them to just 68 rushing yards and 2.8 yards per carry. However, in the first eight games of the season, the team was allowing 148.3 rushing yards per game (29th in the NFL) and 4.9 yards per carry (28th). They had also allowed six rushes of 25 yards or more, tied for the third-most in the league.
“We’ve had some explosive runs against us, and we feel we could’ve played better,” Macdonald said. “It’s not just about singling out individuals—these changes are being made for different reasons. But we need to improve across the board, and linebacker is just where we made this change.”
Jones will now take over as the Seahawks’ defensive signal-caller, while rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight will get the first shot at replacing Dodson. Second-year linebacker Drake Thomas could also see time in certain defensive packages, Macdonald added.
Dodson, who had signed a one-year, $4.26 million contract with Seattle after spending five seasons with the Buffalo Bills, registered 71 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and two passes defensed in his nine games with the Seahawks.
Now placed on waivers, Dodson could be claimed by another team. If he is, the Seahawks would be off the hook for the remaining $1 million of his $2.25 million base salary, which is guaranteed due to his vested veteran status. The claiming team would also take on the remainder of his per-game roster bonuses and incentive-based earnings.
In addition to the move with Dodson, Macdonald said he remains optimistic that wide receiver DK Metcalf, who has missed the last two games with an MCL sprain, will be ready to play against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The coach also expressed confidence that right tackle Abraham Lucas, who has been on the physically unable to perform list all season after knee surgery, will make his season debut in that game. Lucas must be activated to the 53-man roster by Wednesday.
To fill Dodson’s spot on the roster, the Seahawks signed cornerback Josh Jobe from their practice squad. They also placed safety K’Von Wallace (ankle) on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four games, and claimed nose tackle Brandon Pili off waivers from the Miami Dolphins. Pili, an undrafted rookie from USC, has played in 12 games over the last two seasons with the Dolphins, recording four tackles. Seattle also added veteran tight end N’Keal Harry to their practice squad.
Leave a Reply