RENTON, Wash. — Three days before Seattle's season opener, Tyrel Dodson stood at a lectern at the Seahawks' practice facility and highlighted the legacy he'd like to leave.

"I'm excited to kick off a new era, but you still have to respect the culture that has been built. I respect the heck out of Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor, all those guys that set that foundation. Because when you think of this," Dodson said, popping the Seahawks logo printed on his navy hoodie, "you think of those guys.

"I'm trying to turn that around. When people think of this, [I want to make sure] you're thinking of guys like Spoon and Jerome Baker and stuff like that."

Most won't think of Tyrel Dodson.

His cameo is complete.

Following a bye week, Seattle (4-5) made the surprising decision to waive Dodson on Monday, moving on from a 26-year-old linebacker who led the team in tackles (71) and defensive snaps (604). Less than three weeks earlier, the Seahawks dealt Jerome Baker — their other starting linebacker — to the Tennessee Titans, trading him and a fourth-round draft pick for fellow linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Now, Jones and fourth-round rookie Tyrice Knight are suddenly left to man the middle.

Former Seahawks staples Wagner and K.J. Wright started side-by-side for nine consecutive seasons.

The Dodson-Baker duo didn't make it nine games.

Which encapsulates an offseason with mounting misses and corresponding consequences. The team's additions — Dodson, Baker, center Connor Williams, safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and K'Von Wallace, right tackle George Fant, tight end Pharoah Brown, linebacker Trevis Gipson, etc. — have nearly unanimously underwhelmed.

Considering Williams' errant snaps; Jenkins, Fant and Wallace's injury issues; and Brown and Gipson's minimal impacts, it's hard to label any as an actual upgrade. That translates to a team with lingering weaknesses.

Such as, say, the run defense.

A year after the Seahawks sat 27th in the NFL in opponent yards per carry (4.6) and 31st in rushing yards allowed per game (138.4), those numbers have somehow slid further. Seattle slots 26th in both opponent yards per carry (4.8) and rushing yards allowed per game (139.4), as well as 24th in scoring defense (24.6 points allowed per game) and 25th in total defense (357.6 yards allowed per game).

The linebackers, Dodson and Baker, don't deserve all the blame.

But coach Mike Macdonald's actions may speak louder than his words.

"You look at some of the plays that got out on us and some of the explosive runs that we felt like we could have played better at that level," Macdonald said Monday, explaining the decisions to waive Dodson and trade Baker. "Again, I don't want it to feel like we're singling guys out. Obviously it looks that way because of the roster moves we made. We made them for two completely different reasons.

"But the things we need to improve on are really the entire defense. It just so happens we made the move at linebacker."

In a perfect world, those moves would not be necessary; Dodson's Seattle legacy would amount to more than a two-month stay. But despite Dodson's optimism on Sept. 4, the results have gradually eroded, with Seattle heading to San Francisco on Sunday after losing five of its past six games. On Monday Macdonald noted that, "You could go (line by line) on places where we're not up to snuff at this point."

General manager John Schneider and Macdonald bear the blame for those results, as well as the roster construction that left huge holes in the Seahawks' house.

They also deserve credit for admitting when it isn't working.

Schneider, of course, has long been willing to cut his losses. In 2015 the Seahawks signed Cary Williams to a three-year, $18 million deal, only to cut the cornerback 12 games later. Schneider and then-coach Pete Carroll also traded Percy Harvin to the New York Jets midway through the 2014 season, despite dealing three draft picks to Minnesota to acquire the embattled wide receiver less than two years earlier. Harvin — who the Seahawks had signed to a six-year, $67 million contract with $25.5 million guaranteed — appeared in just six games with Seattle.

Though Dodson and Baker's one-year deals were not as damning, both represent obvious missteps in Macdonald's debut. At the same time, it's important for Seahawks fans to see that their general manager and first-year coach will make difficult decisions — and occasionally admit mistakes — in order to improve.

"Sometimes you have to make really tough decisions," the 37-year-old Macdonald said. "That's part of my responsibility. That's part of John's responsibility in doing what's best for the club at all times. We owe that to the fans and to our football team and the rest of the locker room. We're always going to take that mindset. It's always the team, the team, the team."

None of which guarantees the team will win Sunday, pulling itself out of the cellar in the NFC West. After all, the team has other issues, most notably an egregious offensive line.

But Macdonald reiterated Monday that "all things are on the table."

The Seahawks' actions certainly support that point.

(c)2024 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.