Richard Sherman Identifies Seahawks LB Failure

The Seattle Seahawks' experiments at linebacker did not last long, with both starting linebackers to begin the season now playing elsewhere.

Jon Alfano | Nov 13, 2024

Nov 5, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) participates in pregame warmups against the Washington Redskins at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks drastically overhauled their linebacker room in the offseason, with Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks departing and Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson coming in. Halfway through the season, that overhaul has already failed.

On Oct. 23, the Seahawks traded Baker to the Tennessee Titans along with a fourth-round pick for an upgrade at the position in Ernest Jones IV. Then on Monday, just a few weeks later, they waived Dodson in a stunner.

It's clear to see now that the Seahawks made a mistake at linebacker, especially with Wagner and Brooks playing well for their new teams.

On the latest episode of his self-titled podcast, Seahawks legend Richard Sherman identified what, at least in his opinion, went wrong throughout this process.

“You’re basically conceding that you made mistakes”@RSherman_25 sounds off on the Seahawks releasing Tyrel Dodson pic.twitter.com/Kqyju7CFUO
— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) November 13, 2024

"You said, 'Hey, we're going with PFF's highest and second-highest graded coverage linebackers," wait, what?" Sherman said. "No offense to those guys, those guys are quality players and probably could play, but there's a reason Mike Macdonald looked at the tape and said 'He's the problem, we're cutting him.' 'There were some issues in the run game that we couldn't get stops.' It was the most politically correct way you could ever talk this, he should go into politics.

"Then you trade Jerome Baker to get a linebacker you wanted. So that was $11 million dollars that you spent on linebackers to replace Bobby Wagner that are no longer on the roster nine games into the season. I don't know if Bobby's making $7 [million] this year. So you could've spent $7 million to keep a guy who knows his team, knows his teammates, respected in the locker room. It was really frustrating then and it's even more frustrating to see the moves now because you're basically conceding that you made mistakes."

Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but it really goes to show how much scheme fit matters. Baker and Dodson have shown that they're solid players, it just didn't work out in Seattle.

Now, Seattle is handing the reins over to Jones and rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight and hoping for better results.