The message Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has been hammering home for linebacker Tyrice Knight has been a simple one this week. Regardless of that R next to Knight's name on the roster, it's time to play like a veteran.
"We've told him, 'You're not a rookie anymore, you can't make rookie mistakes,'" Macdonald said Friday. "Poise, he handles that in stride, so he's doing a great job."
The Seahawks will likely be counting on that poise on Sunday, with Knight likely making his first NFL start due to a hamstring injury that has usual starting weakside linebacker Jerome Baker listed as doubtful.
"Man, they said it, I've only been here four months," Knight said with a laugh when asked about being told he's not a rookie anymore. "It hit me different when he said it, I see where he's coming from. I know he expects a lot from me."
While a start on Sunday would be Knight's first, he's hardly an inexperienced rookie just getting his first work with the starting defense. Not only did Knight record seven tackles in last week's win over the Patriots, playing 65 percent of Seattle's defensive snaps in place of Baker, he also got significant time with the No. 1 defense during training camp and in the preseason with Baker dealing with a hamstring injury.
"Overall, I feel like I had a good, excellent week this week going through Miami film from top to bottom, just going through all their plays, so I feel like I'm as prepared as I can be," said Knight, who was a fourth-round pick out of UTEP in this year's draft. "… Since the first two games, the two things I noticed for sure are the fans, just really loud at both stadiums, and overall, the game is just way faster. But I feel all the preparation I've had just made everything seem smoother."
Macdonald asks a lot of his defensive players, and his linebackers in particular, so it hasn't been a mistake free first few months in the NFL for Knight, but the progress has impressed teammates and coaches.
"It's just constant improvement," Macdonald said. "We ask a lot of those guys, and at some point he was cross-training multiple positions. It moves fast, and each week, you're kind of learning a new offense and how they operate, so you've got to stay poised, apply your rules. But he's a cool customer, it doesn't ever seem like he's rattled or anything like that, so he's going to be just fine."
Five things to know about the Seahawks vs. Dolphins matchup on Sunday, September 22 at Lumen Field.
This will be linebacker Jerome Baker and center Connor Williams' first matchup against their former team. Baker, who was acquired in free agency, spent 2018-23 with Miami. Williams spent the 2022-23 season with the Dolphins. However, Baker will miss the game due to injury.
Only three players are currently on the Seahawks roster that were also on the roster the last time the Seahawks and Dolphins faced off at Lumen Field which was in 2016. Those players are Tyler Lockett, Jarran Reed and George Fant, although both Reed and Fant have played for other teams before returning to the Seahawks for their second stints.
Seattle's defense ranks sixth overall in the NFL (270.5 ypg), second in yards per play (4.0), tied for second in pass defense (128.5 ypg), while its offense ranks sixth in pass offense (235.0 ypg) and tied for ninth in points scored (24.5 ppg) through the season's first two games.
After last week, Geno Smith's nine game-winning drives since 2022 rank first in the NFL (three in 2022, franchise-record tying five in 2023, one in 2024).
The Seahawks host the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field for the first time since 2016. The Seahawks have won the last two meetings; winning at home in 2016 and the last meeting in Miami, 31-23, on October 4, 2020.
