Tag: Jerome baker

Seahawks T Abe Lucas and six others placed on PUP list before training camp

Seahawks’ Lucas and six others placed on PUP list before training camp

The entire Seattle Seahawks roster will report to training camp next week on July 23rd, but not every player will be suiting up. The Seahawks announced today seven players have been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Unfortunately, they include a few notable names.

Those beginning training camp on the PUP list are as follows:

  • Abe Lucas – tackle
  • Tyrel Dodson – linebacker
  • Jerome Baker – linebacker
  • Lance Boykin – corner
  • Jerrick Reed II – safety
  • Drake Thomas – linebacker
  • Cameron Young – nose tackle

The biggest name is of course starting tackle Abe Lucas. Injuries cut down on Lucas’ sophomore season, and right off the bat. Lucas was injured in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams and did not return to action until Week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. Lucas’ absense directly contributed to Seattle’s poor efforts up front blocking for quarterbacks Geno Smith and Drew Lock.

Lucas did undergo knee surgery this offseaon. Here’s hoping his stint on the PUP list this summer won’t be long.

Other names to be noted are of course linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. These two were signed to fill the void left by Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks leaving in free agency. Seattle is already thin at linebacker, especially with Drake Thomas also on the PUP list. However, this does leave the door open for rookie Tyrice Knight, who I named as one of the top rookies to watch during training camp. 

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Yesterday we learned that Dodson is also injured with an undisclosed issue and Macdonald doesn’t expect him back until training camp, either.

The Seahawks closed out their 2024 mandatory minicamp a day early. After yesterday’s practice head coach Mike Macdonald sent players home for the summer, so they won’t return until training camp begins in about six weeks.

Before we head into the weekend, we have a few small injury updates to share, courtesy of the beat reporters who were on-hand at the VMAC for yesterday’s practice. Brady Henderson at ESPN reports that right guard Anthony Bradford returned to practice for the first time this spring. Bradford had been out with an ankle injury since last season ended. He is projected to start at right guard, as rookie Christian Haynes is still working with the second-string offensive line unit.

Also, right tackle George Fant missed yesterday’s practice. Fortunately, it’s not injury related and head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters that it’s about managing his workload. The next man up at right tackle was Raiqwon O’Neal. The depth beneath Abe Lucas could turn out to be one of the team’s biggest x-factors, depending on how his knee recovers from surgery. Lucas missed 11 games last season with chronic pain.

Also, a couple of players suffered what appeared to be minor injuries during Wednesday’s practice. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba left practice early with a shoulder issue but Macdonald said the Seahawks were just playing it safe by sitting him out. Also, receiver Laviska Shenault left early with a foot injury, but Macdonald was also unbothered about that one.

The one real negative injury update we have to share concerns linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Seattle was already relatively thin at this spot with Jerome Baker on the sidelines until training camp with a wrist injury from Week 18 last season. Yesterday we learned that Dodson is also injured with an undisclosed issue and Macdonald doesn’t expect him back until training camp, either.

With their two projected starters at inside linebacker out, the team went with Jon Rhattigan and Patrick O’Connell at practice.

This is pretty far from ideal, but fans should keep in mind that it’s only the middle of June and there isn’t anything to do until training camp, anyway.

If Dodson and Baker are still out by the time the preseason starts then it might become a legitimate concern. Until then, remember that the Seahawks were always going to take a step backwards at this position after the exits of Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, who both signed lucrative deals with other teams in free agency.

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Linebacker Jerome Baker likely out until training camp for Seahawks

Linebacker Jerome Baker likely out until training camp for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are going to field plenty of new faces in 2024, especially on defense. During free agency, linebackers Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks were both allowed to sign with the Commanders and Dolphins, respectively. Replacing them were Tyrell Dodson and Jerome Baker.

Unfortunately, Baker is having a bit of a health concern at the moment. One of the newest additions to the Seahawks is battling some injuries, and is going to be away for a while. Head coach Mike Macdonald explained to the media the status of Baker for the time being.

Baker had wrist surgery right before he signed a one-year, $7 million dollar contract with Seattle. Being able to get Baker healthy and back into the lineup will be critical for a Seahawks defense looking to improve from being among the worst in football for two-straight seasons now.

If Baker is unable to go, perhaps the potential future at inside linebacker for rookie Tyrice Knight could be coming a lot sooner than anticipated.

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Seahawks rookie Tyrice Knight to train at OLB when vets arrive

Seahawks rookie Tyrice Knight to train at OLB when vets arrive

One of the biggest needs for the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 materialized shortly after the start of free agency. The linebacker position was left suddenly bare with the departure of Bobby Wagner to the Washington Commanders and Jordyn Brooks to the Miami Dolphins.

Seattle started to address these concerns by signing a pair of former AFC East linebackers to fill the holes: Tyrell Dodson from the Buffalo Bills, and Jerome Baker from (interestingly enough) the Miami Dolphins.

However, the team was not done there, as they drafted UTEP’s Tyrice Knight in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft. This move was largely viewed as a depth pick, as there is a significant veteran presense at the linebacker position. Head coach Mike Macdonald seemed to reinforce that, and even moving positions slightly for Knight. However, he hinted at what the future might hold.

 

Both Dodson and Baker are on one-year deals. Certainly, this does not ensure their time in Seattle will be limited. Perhaps the Seahawks will fall in love with one or both and re-sign them.

Or perhaps they are transitional journeymen, filling a role destined for Knight to eventually develop into.

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Tyrel Dodson reveals his jersey number for the Seahawks in 2024

We will likely get all the new jersey numbers at some point later this week.

We still haven’t gotten official confirmation of new uniform numbers for any of the players the Seahawks have signed in free agency. However, we do finally have our first leak.

Yesterday linebacker Tyrel Dodson shared a photo on Twitter, revealing that he will be wearing No. 0 for Seattle this year.

Zero was worn by inside linebacker Devin Bush last season. Bush performed well in relief of Jordyn Brooks late in the year but he was not re-signed and eventually landed in Cleveland. Brooks and Bobby Wagner were also allowed to walk, so the Seahawks are basically starting over at this position.

For now, the projected starters are Dodson and fellow free agent signee Jerome Baker. Apparently Dodson will be taking over Wagner’s former role as the middle linebacker and Baker will play weakside. We don’t have any word yet of who will be wearing the green dot on their helmet, though.

We will likely get all the new jersey numbers at some point later this week.

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Little by little, we’re beginning to know more about new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

Little by little, we’re beginning to know more about new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald. While we can only learn so much before watching his scheme in action, Macdonald has willingly shared some of his philosophy about the game. Another defense-first head coach like Pete Carroll, Macdonald’s first challenge will be turning around a unit that has finished in the bottom three each of the last two seasons.

Part of the equation requires a revamp of the linebacker position, where Seattle has exchanged Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks for Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. We now know that Dodson will be taking over Wagner’s former role at middle linebacker and Baker will play WLB. This week Macdonald shared some thoughts about them as well as what he will expect from everyone at this position, per Mike Dugar at the Athletic.

“Two guys that can run. Two intelligent football players. Tough. I thought they were both good tacklers. They’re both good players in space. Those are things we’re asking of our inside ‘backers. Those guys gotta take up a lot of ground, man. They gotta play people out of the backfield, they gotta play all the choice routes on the weakside, which is hard to do… I think we got the right guys for the job. They’ve gotta blitz, play man-to-man. We ask a lot out of our inside ‘backers. It’ll be a great battle, and we’ll see how it comes to life, but I think there’s some opportunity there to have a little more position flexibility than I think maybe you saw in Baltimore.”

Flexibility is the key word and it doesn’t just apply to the off-ball linebackers. One common theme we have seen in the team’s free agent pickups this year has been positional versatility. New safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace can line up everywhere on the back end of that defense. We should assume the same will be true about any cornerbacks the team adds in the upcoming draft.

Overall it sounds like Macdonald is going to take a far more modern approach to defense than Carroll did. Even though the scheme changed from season to season and coordinator to coordinator it somehow ended up being predictable every year – from too much zone to too few post-snap shifts. There’s a whole lot more to being head coach than excelling in your one particular fief, but fans should rest assured that Macdonald will get this Seahawks defense finally up to date.

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It seems they’ve already figured out one of the key questions regarding their defense.

The Seahawks coaching staff passed on attending this year’s Scouting Combine, leaving that work to general manager John Schneider. Mike Macdonald’s staff had other things to take care of, namely installing a whole new scheme in all three phases in a matter of weeks before players arrive to begin the offseason program on April 8.

It seems they’ve already figured out one of the key questions regarding their defense. Schneider told Seattle Sports 710 that free agent pickup Tyrel Dodson will be replacing Bobby Wagner as the team’s new middle linebacker. Meanwhile, Jerome Baker will take over Jordyn Brooks’ former role on the weakside. However, we don’t know who will wear the green dot on defense as of yet. H/T Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times.

“But Schneider said that as of today Baker would be the weakside linebacker (Brooks’ position last year) and Dodson the middle linebacker (Wagner’s)… And whether that means Dodson now steps into the green dot role, or Baker handles it from the weakside spot, Schneider didn’t specifically say.”

Coming from Buffalo, Dodson signed a one-year deal with Seattle worth $4.25 million. He’s coming off a breakout 2023 season, earning 10 starts and posting 74 tackles (eight for a loss), 2.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and just one touchdown allowed in coverage. While his snap count was relatively low compared to other elite linebackers around the league, he earned the highest PFF grade at his position last season.

The x-factor for the success of Dodson and Baker will be how they perform in coverage compared to Wagner and Brooks. While it’s true that weakness in coverage is the norm for most NFL linebackers, the Seahawks clearly went out of their way to get two defenders who are far better than average at their position in this department. If they provide a real bump here it should raise the overall ceiling for how Seattle’s defense performs significantly.

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Thankfully, general manager John Schneider had other ideas.

Heading into the 2024 offseason, our blueprint called for the Seahawks keeping mostly the same core defensively and seeing what new head coach Mike Macdonald could get out of them calling the plays. Thankfully, general manager John Schneider had other ideas. Rather than running it back with the same personnel he chose to blow it up and shed all of the heavy contracts on the back end of that defense.

To begin, Seattle cut starting safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. The team ate a ton of dead money between them but also saved a massive amount of cap room both this year and in 2025. Next, the Seahawks allowed veteran linebackers Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks to leave in free agency – both at prices they easily could have afforded given their cap space. LB3 Devin Bush is also now gone, having signed with the Browns.

The most significant outside free agent signing the team has made so far is adding former Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins on a two-year, $12 million deal that’s very similar to the one Julian Love signed last year. Those two will now be slated to start at safety.

At linebacker, the Seahawks have effectively replaced Wagner and Brooks with former Bills linebacker Tyrel Dodson and former Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker. Financial details for Dodson’s one-year deal have not been disclosed as of yet, but we know Baker has a one-year, $7 million deal.

On the other side of the ball, Seattle allowed left guard Damien Lewis to walk – avoiding another huge investment at a non-premium position. Lewis signed a massive new deal with Carolina worth over $20 million per year. Needless to say, matching that number would have been an atrocious use of cap resources.

Fans should expect the front office to select another guard, as well as a linebacker and a safety at some point in the 2024 NFL draft, but it’s clear already what the team’s strategy is this offseason: clear the dead weight and reset with an eye on really making a jump in 2025. That means they will likely be taking a step back next season – but the important thing is they’ve set themselves up to compete much better in the future.

That’s the correct move, because in case you haven’t noticed this team got decimated by practically every contender they faced last season with the exception of the Lions, whose number they just seem to have. The one that matters most is the 49ers, who have won five straight matchups against Seattle in dominant fashion. No matter what the front office did this offseason they were unlikely to close that rather sizable gap in just one year. That means hitting the reset button and rebuilding the roster with a more modern approach is right.

It will take more time to get their course totally corrected, but the Seahawks have made significant progress in that department these last few weeks.

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Former Dolphins LB lands in the NFC West.

The Miami Dolphins made a flurry of cuts before the start of the league year, which included linebacker Jerome Baker, as the two sides couldn’t agree on a pay cut.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Baker has found a new home in the NFC West, signing a one-year, $7 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

Baker, 27, was Miami’s third-round selection in the 2018 NFL draft after finishing up a collegiate career at Ohio State. He played six seasons for the Dolphins, recording 587 tackles (31 for a loss), 46 quarterback hits, 22.5 sacks, 21 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and five interceptions.

Interestingly, Miami replaced Baker with Jordyn Brooks, who spent the last four seasons with Seattle.

Seahawks sign LB Jerome Baker to a one-year deal

Seahawks sign LB Jerome Baker to a one-year deal

The Seattle Seahawks have added another piece to their suddenly depleted linebacker position. On Friday, free agent linebacker Jerome Baker visited the Seahawks after previously meeting with the Tennessee Titans. The trip the Pacific Northwest was clearly a good one, as Baker has now signed a one-year contract with Seattle.

For the first time in his career, Baker will play for a new team. Baker was, up to this point, a lifelong Miami Dolphin after being selected by them in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.

As previously stated in the Tweet above, Baker joins former AFC East rival Tyrel Dodson to make up the new linebacking corps for the Seahawks. They are the latest editions to head coach Mike Macdonald’s new defense.

Baker and Dodson face a tall task, as they will attempt to fix one of the league’s worst run defenses for two years now.

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