With Seahawks training camp kicking off later this month, Seahawks.com is counting down, in no particular order, 10 of the most intriguing storylines, position battles and players heading into the 2025 season. So far, we've looked at the return game, tight end, safety, and the running game, and today we turn our attention to linebacker. Check back Monday when we focus on receiver.

Key Linebacker Additions: none.

Key Linebacker Departures: none.

As Mike Macdonald went through his first year as a head coach, he knew there would be learning on the job and adjustments to be made, and one of the many things he showed in his first year leading the Seahawks was that he, along with general manager and president of football operations John Schneider, was not afraid to make significant changes in-season rather than wait to sort out issues in the offseason.

When an injury sidelined starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins and Coby Bryant thrived after taking over that role, Macdonald made the change permanent rather than give the job back to Jenkins. And when returners Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault Jr. struggled with ball security, both were replaced. But perhaps the biggest changes Macdonald made, especially given his background coaching linebackers and that position's importance in his defense, was to replace both starting linebackers in the middle part of the season.

First, the Seahawks swung a trade with Tennessee to acquire linebacker Ernest Jones IV, sending a draft pick and starting linebacker Jerome Baker to the Titans. Less than a month later, the Seahawks waived Tyrel Dodson, who had started the first nine games of the season and was at the time the team's leading tackler, a move that allowed rookie Tyrice Knight to take over the starting spot next to Jones.

Macdonald didn't want to put all the blame on Baker and Dodson for the team's struggles on defense at the time, but as it played out, it was clear that the changes helped the defense turn a corner in the second half of the season.

"Holistically as a defense, we weren't getting it done, and we put a lot on our linebackers," Macdonald said last season after Dodson was waived. "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."

Those changes at linebacker were part of what allowed the Seahawks to thrive down the stretch, winning six of the final eight games of the season as the defense ranked fourth in the league in yards allowed (304.8), fifth in points per game allowed (18.4) fifth in first downs allowed (18.1) and sixth in pass defense (205.0) over that stretch.

And now, after making those changes on defense, and at linebacker in particular, the Seahawks should enjoy more stability on defense in Year 2 under Macdonald, with 10 of 11 starters from the end of last season back this year. Re-signing Jones, who was a standout playmaker and leader after joining the team, was one of the team's most significant offseason moves, and as well as he played after joining the team midway through the season, he should be even better coming off a full offseason and training camp with the team.

"I think it's going to be special," Jones said when asked about the continuity on defense. "I'm excited. I don't want to give too much because we've got to go put the work in. But, if the vision lives up to what I think, yeah, it's going to be something crazy.

"I like us versus anything and anybody. That's how I'll leave it."

Knight, meanwhile, will have the benefit of his rookie experiences under his belt and should be ready for a Year 2 leap.

"I thought he made leaps and bounds (of progress) from when he started in the Miami game and then he came back and played in the San Francisco game," defensive coordinator Aden Durde said. "He just felt calmer when he was out there. He's kind of like that. There's nothing that's too much for him. He goes out there. I think the growth of it is just understanding why we call the plays when we call the plays, what opportunities you have, what's your true job, what assignment you've got, and how do you make the plays you can make and then how do you guide the plays in front of you? Setting them up, lining them up, he and E.J. are working on that."