The Seattle Seahawks lost their second preseason game of the year last night to the Tennessee Titans on the road, 16-15. After it was over head coach Mike Macdonald briefly spoke with the team beat reporters in the bowels of Nissan Stadium. Macdonald sounded pleased with what he saw from backup quarterback Sam Howell, who looked much sharper than in his preseseason debut last weekend.
Macdonald also offered a couple of injury updates, including one for projected starting linebacker Jerome Baker. Apparently Baker is now dealing with a hamstring injury after missing most of the offseason program with a broken wrist. Macdonald said he couldn't give a date when Baker will be back but the plan is to have him back Week 1, for sure.
Mike Macdonald on Jerome Baker, who's been out the last two weeks with a hamstring injury: "I can’t give you a date on when he’s coming back, but he should be going here pretty soon." Said "the plan is to have him ready for week 1, yeah, for sure."
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) August 18, 2024
Reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like Macdonald is very confident about Baker being ready for the Denver Broncos. That could be one reason why the team has given so much playing time to rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight these last couple of weeks.
If Baker is indeed not ready to go Week 1, Knight will be starting in his place at weakside linebacker next to Tyrel Dodson.
For what it's worth, Knight has performed very well in preseason, earning the highest defensive grade on the team last week and posting a team-high eight total tackles last night and playing every defensive snap.
