There’s been some back and forth all offseason, but it appears like things are close to being set in stone with outside linebacker K.J. Wright and the Seahawks. It doesn’t sound like he’ll be coming back for an 11th season in Seattle.
Pete Carroll said a couple of weeks ago the door was open for Wright to return, but Brady Henderson of ESPN.com writes that he’s not in the team’s plans. Wright has said since February that he wanted to return to the Seahawks, but not at a discount. However, Henderson writes the team’s decision is “only partly about money.”
Instead, it’s “mostly because the Seahawks want their top two draft picks from 2020”, Jordyn Brooks and Darrell Taylor, to become starters next to Bobby Wagner at linebacker in their defense. In other words, the team just wants to get younger on defense, which is understandable.
Wright is the longest-tenured member of the team, and has started at least 12 games in all of his pro seasons except 2018 when he dealt with a knee injury. However, the 2011 fourth-round pick will also turn 32 in July.
Wright won Super Bowl XLVIII with the team, and made the Pro Bowl in 2016. One of the last members of the legendary "Legion of Boom" defenses of yesteryear, it sounds like Wright will need to find a new home if he wants to keep playing. He did say in late March he was interested in playing for the Cowboys, with his old defensive coordinator Dan Quinn now coaching in Dallas.
More must-reads: