Of the other six inside linebackers currently on Seattle\u2019s 90-man roster<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n That inexperience is now under the microscope due to Knight\u2019s status. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said on Saturday that Knight was \u201cgetting close\u201d to recovering from a knee injury that he suffered in practice last week, but that he\u2019s now dealing with a separate undisclosed medical issue<\/a> that will sideline him for a \u201ccouple weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019 inside linebacker depth a concern?<\/p>\n Former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman doesn\u2019t think so, as long as Knight is only out a short while. Wyman likes what he\u2019s seen in training camp from third-year pro Patrick O\u2019Connell and the aforementioned Thomas, who are likely the top two backups at the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that O\u2019Connell could hold it down for a while,\u201d Wyman said on Seattle Sports\u2019 Wyman and Bob<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve just seen lots of really good things from him. He\u2019s quick. He gets off of blocks. \u2026 And I\u2019d say the same thing about Drake as well. Drake Thomas also gets off blocks. He\u2019s quick. So I feel pretty good about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n O\u2019Connell, a former undrafted linebacker from the University of Montana, spent most of the past two seasons on Seattle\u2019s practice squad. He has appeared in six games, logging 75 snaps on special teams.<\/p>\n Thomas appeared in all 17 games last season, logging 318 special teams snaps and 37 defensive snaps.<\/p>\n Wyman also thinks Jones\u2019 steadying presence at the other inside linebacker spot could help ease in a backup like O\u2019Connell or Thomas. Wyman wouldn\u2019t have felt that level of confidence this time last year, when Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker were the team\u2019s season-opening starting linebackers.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year at this time, if you would\u2019ve plugged (a backup) in with Dodson or Baker, it would have been a huge concern,\u201d Wyman said. \u201cBut I think the fact that you\u2019re plugging them in next to Ernest Jones, that guy could pretty much tell you what to do on every single play. \u2026 He just really understands that defense.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation at this link<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Seahawks<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Seattle Seahawks Injury Updates: The latest on several key players<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Roster Move: Seattle Seahawks drop an Oregon Duck to sign a UW Husky<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Salk: Seahawks rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts \u2018jumped off the page\u2019<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Bump: A Seahawks defender who helped himself in preseason opener<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Breaking down how each Seahawks rookie draft pick did in preseason debut<\/a><\/p>\n
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