Seattle Seahawks' solution at their biggest problem area starting 2024 season behind the 8-ball
Linebacker has long since been a huge issue for the Seattle Seahawks, one that has directly contributed to them falling behind the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West in recent years. Right now it is a problem that appears unlikely to be resolved in new head coach Mike MacDonald's first […]
Linebacker has long since been a huge issue for the Seattle Seahawks, one that has directly contributed to them falling behind the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West in recent years.
Right now it is a problem that appears unlikely to be resolved in new head coach Mike MacDonald's first season as head coach.
The Seahawks underwent an overhaul at linebacker, with Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks each bidding farewell to the team. Seattle brought in Jerome Baker and an ascending young player in Tyrel Dodson before drafting Tyrice Knight in the fourth round of this year's draft.
But their depth at the position is still very thin and Baker is starting his Seahawks career behind the 8-ball.
Baker, MacDonald confirmed on Thursday, will likely not be ready until training camp after undergoing offseason surgery.
"He's working through some things right now," MacDonald told a press conference. "We probably won't see him until training camp at this level. He's going to be fine, but just right now we won't see him out in OTAs."
Asked to clarify if his absence was due to having surgery on his wrist, MacDonald replied: "The wrist and couple other things, like lower body stuff he's working through."
With Dodson also not present at the voluntary practices, Jon Rhattigan and Patrick O'Connell served as the Seahawks' first-team linebackers on Thursday.
Baker and Dodson are expected to be the starting inside backers in Seattle's 3-4 defense and, with both coming across from different teams, MacDonald would surely like to have them on the field as early and as often as possible.
But the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator was eager not to overstate the impact of their absence at this point in Seattle's preparations for 2024.
"I wouldn't call it a concern but any time someone isn't getting all the reps you got to figure out different ways to get them the reps," added MacDonald.
"So it's mental stuff, walk-throughs, we're trying to be creative in the building to make sure he gets all the things he needs to see. He'll [Baker] be up to speed, ready to roll."
Baker has the athleticism to excel in pass coverage. Last season, he registered two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and was credited by Sports Info Solutions with 17.58 points saved in coverage, the ninth-most among linebackers targeted at least 25 times.
Having played under Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, he will be very familiar with the offenses the Seahawks will go against when they face the 49ers and the Rams.
Despite his physical gifts and his familiarity with the schemes run by the Seahawks' biggest rivals, Baker still needs those mental reps to help ensure linebacker is not the weakness it has been for Seattle in years past.
As one of the brightest defensive minds in the game, MacDonald has every reason to be confident he can get Baker up to speed in a hurry. Still, it is far from ideal for the Seahawks to have their most experienced player at a position where they have consistently struggled not in the building ahead of his first year with the team. If the Seahawks are to make the progress they desire at linebacker, they need Baker to prove a very quick study.
Mike MacDonald expecting big step forward from Seattle Seahawks’ first-round pick in 2024 season
He’s been very impressed.
