NFL insider Daniel Jeremiah reacts to Seahawks cutting Tyrel Dodson

The Seattle Seahawks made a stunning move on Monday with their decision to release starting inside linebacker and leading tackler Tyrel Dodson.

What Seahawks cutting Tyrel Dodson says about their LB situation

It was the second major shakeup to their linebacker corps in less than three weeks. On Oct. 23, Seattle sent starting inside linebacker Jerome Baker and a fourth-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Dodson and Baker each signed one-year deals with the Seahawks in March, but are now both out the door just nine games into the season.

Those two decisions come in the wake of Seattle’s continued struggles on run defense. The Seahawks rank 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (139.4) and 27th in yards allowed per carry (4.8).

Since coming over in the trade, Jones has started each of the past two games for Seattle. With Dodson now gone, rookie fourth-round draft pick Tyrice Knight is expected to take over the other inside linebacker spot alongside Jones. Knight started two games earlier this season while Baker was sidelined with an injury.

During his weekly appearance Wednesday morning on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah was asked what message was signaled by the Seahawks releasing a starting linebacker midseason.

“Not good enough,” Jeremiah said. “Just what the standard is and (Dodson was) not good enough. And look, it’s early to be waving the white flag, but it also says, ‘We want to give opportunities to those that we think can be a part of this when we’re winning. When we’re a championship-caliber team, who are the guys on this team that are gonna be a member of that (championship-caliber) team?’

“And if you look at it and say, ‘OK, well this guy might be the best that we have right now, but he’s not gonna be good enough for us to be a championship-level team,’ (then) let’s get a look at some other guys and try and figure out who is gonna be on that roster.”

As Jeremiah stated, Dodson’s release clears the path for Knight to play regular snaps and gives the Seahawks an opportunity to see what they have in the rookie linebacker out of UTEP.

That then prompted former NFL quarterback Brock Huard to ask the question: Given the decision to prioritize a rookie draft pick over Dodson, is this a rebuilding year for Seattle under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald?

“I don’t think that was the intent (heading into the season),” Jeremiah said. “There’s a lot of veterans on this roster, a lot of good veteran players. And they’ve got some good young guys as well. But I think the intent was, ‘We’re gonna make changes (with) coaches and scheme and we’re gonna be a playoff team right now.’ I think that was where the expectation was. And they’ve shown glimpses of being that type of team.

“But I also think there’s the fact you’ve gotta adjust as you’re going throughout the year. And as you’re going throughout the year, you’re saying, ‘OK, well, maybe this isn’t a perfect marriage between the personnel that we have and the way that we want to play.’ So I think it’d be dumb to just continue rolling the same guys out there and not be realistic about where you are and say, ‘OK, let’s turn our eyes a little bit toward next year and to the future and let’s try to figure out exactly what we have here.'”

Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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