With Knight out, is Seattle Seahawks' LB depth a concern?

The Seattle Seahawks have a quality starting inside linebacker duo in Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight, but the depth behind them is razor-thin in terms of NFL experience.

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Of the other six inside linebackers currently on Seattle’s 90-man roster, only one has played an NFL regular-season snap on defense. That would be third-year pro Drake Thomas, who has a combined 41 defensive snaps over his first two seasons.

That inexperience is now under the microscope due to Knight’s status. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said on Saturday that Knight was “getting close” to recovering from a knee injury that he suffered in practice last week, but that he’s now dealing with a separate undisclosed medical issue that will sideline him for a “couple weeks.”

Macdonald said Knight is expected to be back in time for the Sept. 7 season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. But if not, is the Seahawks’ inside linebacker depth a concern?

Former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman doesn’t think so, as long as Knight is only out a short while. Wyman likes what he’s seen in training camp from third-year pro Patrick O’Connell and the aforementioned Thomas, who are likely the top two backups at the moment.

“I think that O’Connell could hold it down for a while,” Wyman said on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “I’ve just seen lots of really good things from him. He’s quick. He gets off of blocks. … And I’d say the same thing about Drake as well. Drake Thomas also gets off blocks. He’s quick. So I feel pretty good about that.”

O’Connell, a former undrafted linebacker from the University of Montana, spent most of the past two seasons on Seattle’s practice squad. He has appeared in six games, logging 75 snaps on special teams.

Thomas appeared in all 17 games last season, logging 318 special teams snaps and 37 defensive snaps.

Wyman also thinks Jones’ steadying presence at the other inside linebacker spot could help ease in a backup like O’Connell or Thomas. Wyman wouldn’t have felt that level of confidence this time last year, when Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker were the team’s season-opening starting linebackers.

“Last year at this time, if you would’ve plugged (a backup) in with Dodson or Baker, it would have been a huge concern,” Wyman said. “But I think the fact that you’re plugging them in next to Ernest Jones, that guy could pretty much tell you what to do on every single play. … He just really understands that defense.”

Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune into Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

With Knight out, is Seattle Seahawks’ LB depth a concern?

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