Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said, prior to the team's Week 10 bye, that they would use the time off to evaluate everything about the first half of the season, noting "everything's on the table."

Just how much things change after the bye remains to be seen but one change the team decided heading into Week 11 was to move on from linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who was waived Monday after starting the team's first nine games.

The decision was made in order to give opportunities to other linebackers, including rookie Tyrice Knight, but waiving Dodson rather than putting him in a backup role also gives the veteran linebacker a chance to catch on elsewhere where he might be able to have a bigger role.

"We really appreciate T-Dot," Macdonald said. "He's worked extremely hard, rehabbed throughout the offseason here. There was an opportunity for us when we sat and took a step back and realized where we were at, it was the best thing for us to move forward that way, give the other guys in the room an opportunity to step up. I hope those guys grab that opportunity by the horns and take it run with it, and then it gives Tyrel an opportunity to find another spot somewhere else so he can finish the year strong. That was the thought behind it."

Asked later about the reason for waiving Dodson rather than keeping him as a backup, Macdonald added, "It was what's best for us, for the team at this point, and you're looking at what's best for the person too. This is a guy that's come in and worked really hard, it didn't work out here, which is on everybody involved, myself included. But it gives him an opportunity to go play somewhere else."

The move marks the second time in recent weeks that the Seahawks have made a change at linebacker, having also traded former starter Jerome Baker, along with a draft pick, to Tennessee in exchange for Ernest Jones IV, who has started the last two games at middle linebacker.

"Holistically as a defense, we weren't getting it done, and we put a lot on our linebackers," Macdonald said. "I hate that it had to work out just through those two guys, because those are two guys that we respect a lot who came in and worked really hard, but sometimes you have to make these decisions and do what you feel is best for our defense to take the next step. So that was the decision, but it just happened to be those guys. But we do put a lot on our linebackers, we expect a lot from those guys, and that'll always be the case here as long as we're here.

"I don't want us to feel like we're singling guys out; obviously it looks that way because of the roster moves that we made. We made them for two completely different reasons, but the things we need to improve are really the entire defense, it just so happens that we made the move at linebacker."

Asked about the topic of making roster changes in general, Macdonald added, "Sometimes you have to make really tough decisions, and that's part of my responsibility, and it's part of John's responsibility of doing what's best for the club at all times. We owe that to our fans and our football team and the rest of the locker room. So we're always going to take that mindset, it's always about the team, the team, the team."

With Monday's decision to waive Dodson, the Seahawks will need a new starting weakside linebacker, and Macdonald said Knight, who started two games earlier this season in place of an injured Baker, will likely step into that role, though Drake Thomas could also factor in there.

"T-Knight will get the first look, then we could look at some different personnel packages as well, and Drake Thomas might get a crack at it as well," he said.

Asked what he's looking to see from Knight, Macdonald said, "We expect him to keep improving as a player. He's going to get a lot more reps now, so just try to take his game to the next level, do what he does, make tackles, play good solid football for us, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with the opportunity."