News broke that the Seahawks had waived leading tackler Tyrel Dodson on Monday. It is not common for teams to waive their leading tackler partway through a season, especially when there were no disciplinary issues. It is even more uncommon to part ways with both starting inside linebackers within a few weeks of each other, as Seattle did when trading Jerome Baker in the deal for Ernest Jones IV. The quick hook for both free agent additions led many to immediately bemoan the Seahawks decision to let former 1st round pick, Jordyn Brooks, leave for the Miami Dolphins. That angst is understandable, but misdirected.
The undeniable
John Schneider made the decision to prioritize Leonard Williams and the defensive line position over the inside linebacker position. He has stated that publicly. He also made the decision to sign Dodson and Jerome Baker, and neither player worked out.
It is never a good thing to pay players who perform below expectations. The team got almost nothing out of the Baker signing. He was injured all of OTAs and training camp, missed games during the season due to injury, and was a bad fit when he was on the field. Dodson was more of a mixed bag, but he seemed out of his depth in the Mike Macdonald defense that asks a lot of the inside linebacker position.
There are linebackers who were free agents last year who have outperformed both Baker and Dodson. Blake Cashman has been terrific with the Vikings in coverage and as a run defender. Azeez Al-Shaair has been a big addition to the Texans defense. Bobby Wagner has played elite run defense and been a plus pass rusher for the upstart Commanders. And Jordyn Brooks has been a solid addition for the Dolphins.
There have also been linebackers who have not been great for their new teams. Patrick Queen had a great game against the Commanders, but has been largely disappointing in Pittsburgh. Kenneth Murray has not worked out in Tennessee. Devin White flamed out in Philadelphia. Eric Kendricks has been nothing special in Dallas. De’Vondre Campbell has been a disaster in San Francisco. Denzel Perryman has been mediocre with the Chargers.
Judging a free agent decision purely based on player performance is too simplistic. There are a number of factors to consider.
Price and flexibility
It would be easy to assess a general manager if everything was equal. They are not. Different players command different prices. Your decision as a GM is not just figuring out which player is better. It must include cost of acquisition.
Too many fans focus on single season prices when looking at the Seahawks linebacker decisions this off-season. Dodson and Baker will wind up costing between $10-11M, depending on whether Dodson is claimed off waivers by another team. People compare that to the $8.75M average price per season for Brooks and cry foul.
Comparing the salaries of two players to one actually helps explain part of the logic Schneider likely used in arriving at his decision. The team needed two starting inside linebackers. The 2024 price of the two players who played the position for Seattle last season was $16.25 ($6.5M for Wagner, $8.75M for Brooks).
A $5M-$6M difference is significant. It is a little more complex than that given that Brooks signed a multi-year deal, which reduces his cap number in 2024 significantly. But that cuts both ways. You also had to be willing to commit more money to him over more years than Baker, Dodson, or Wagner. You had to be willing to make him the 12th-highest paid linebacker in football.
That is where flexibility comes into play. Mike Macdonald joined as a first-time head coach who had a defense that is known to put a lot of emphasis on the linebacker position. Was he ready to commit to multiple years for Brooks? He may have preferred to have an opportunity to evaluate the player in his system before making the bigger commitment.
It would be far worse to be stuck with a player you do not want for multiple years than to swing and miss on players who you can walk away from at any time
Schneider and Pete Carroll demonstrated this concept in the extreme during their first season in 2010 when they churned through hundreds of players to see if there were any they wanted to keep. The regrets generally come more from players you cannot walk away from than those you do not sign long-term.
The goal, though, is to accumulate talent. Did Seattle miss out on a game-changing player in order to preserve some cash and flexibility?
Player performance
Brooks is a solid linebacker. He is physical and a plus defender in the run and the pass. He has also never made the Pro Bowl or been an All-Pro. Dodson was as far from a 1st-round pick as you can be. Buffalo signed him as an undrafted free agent and he only played special teams for most of his time there before getting a chance to start the last half of 2023. He has a number of flash plays, and was considered one of the better players on the Bills defense when he was out there.
Let’s take a look at how they have performed so far this season.
Neither player has been a standout this season. Brooks has been a favorite of some film watchers who appreciate the way he handles certain coverage responsibilities. As important as that might be, it has not made Brooks the impact player some perceive him to be.
He has not been the player to force a key turnover, make a game-changing stop or pass breakup or sack. He does not even clearly separate himself from Dodson in a variety of measures related to run defense, pass coverage, or pass rush.
There is almost certainly solid evidence that Brooks is a superior player to Dodson if you broke it down on film. That is not the bar. Is there evidence that he would: (a) be a standout player for the Seahawks (b) be worth the price difference over the course of their contracts (c) be a clear enough core player to make a multi-year commitment?
Brooks was not a Pro Bowl level player when he was on the Seahawks. Seattle still had one of the worst defenses in the NFL while he was here. He is not on track to be a Pro Bowl player for Miami.
It is possible that Brooks would be flourishing in a different way under Macdonald’s coaching, but he is playing for a Macdonald disciple in Miami, so that feels like a stretch.
The Ravens had two All-Pro level linebackers in Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Queen was another free agent possibility. Macdonald did not pound the table for him. He has also not clearly been worth the contract he signed.
Wagner and Cashman are arguably the guys who have most earned the money they were given. Macdonald and Schneider made the decision to start younger, and likely with more coverage range than Wagner can offer. Cashman feels more like the one who got away, but it is hard to know if he was even open to joining Seattle.
Failing forward
It would have been ideal for Dodson and Baker to work out in Seattle. Even if they did, the likelihood was always that only one would be signed to a long-term deal. The team drafted Tyrice Knight and would probably go back to the draft again rather than sign two veterans to expensive contracts at the linebacker spot.
Instead, they used one of those draft picks (4th round) to acquire Jones from Tennessee. He showed more in two games than either Dodson or Baker had in their time here. He was the second-best linebacker in the NFC West last season, and is only 24-years-old. The team now has the guy they clearly will want to sign to that long-term contract. It took three bites at the apple, but it does appear they have found an impact player in the middle of their defense who can also act as a leader.
Knight is just 23-years-old and has already shown some promise as a seek-and-destroy run defender. He will have the balance of the season to prove whether he should be the default starter next season. Otherwise, the team can go back to the draft again. Should Knight show promise, the Seahawks will a young and athletic linebacking pairing that could be in place for years.
Had they kept Brooks, they almost certainly would not have made the deal for Jones since he will require the multi-year deal they will only want to give one player at that position. Would the Seahawks be better off with Brooks and Knight or Jones and Knight? Hard to say, especially without knowing the Jones contract cost, but it is at least as likely the team is better off with their current duo than the hypothetical. And signing Brooks would not have granted Macdonald the flexibility to test drive the players before committing.
Brooks is a good player. He has not proven to be great. The only players truly worth anguishing over losing are the great ones. Seahawks fans have to hope Jones and/or Knight rise to that level.