Tag Archives: K.J. Wright

The roster, Week 2: At Chicago

No risk: Kendricks might be here for only a week

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Logo -- At ChicagoThe Seahawks have some temporary (we hope) problems at linebacker, and they came up with a controversial solution when they reportedly added Mychal Kendricks, who faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced in January for insider trading.

Assuming his only fault is that he cheated to gain some extra investment cash, Kendricks is not any kind of risk for the Hawks — and there’s no reason to dislike the move. He committed a victim-less crime and will pay his penance after his Jan. 24 sentencing.

Most fans seem to agree with us, not overly concerned about his financial crime — knowing he did not hurt anyone and will pay for his investment shenanigans later. But some wonder whether the NFL might suspend him, making this signing moot.

Continue reading No risk: Kendricks might be here for only a week →

Injury report, State of the team

Grading roster strength

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Seahawks bandagesThe Seahawks have not suffered any devastating injuries this preseason, which puts them one up on some NFL teams; but, they certainly have their share of dings.

The Seahawks have just a handful of veteran stars left from the Super Bowl core, and a couple of them are banged up as the season approaches. But K.J. Wright and Doug Baldwin aren’t the only injuries that will affect the team when it takes the field in Denver in a little over a week. The team also figures to be without Dion Jordan, Ed Dickson, Jamarco Jones, J.D. McKissic and perhaps Byron Maxwell and Neiko Thorpe.

At least five of those eight players were expected to be big contributors this season, so it’s at least a little concerning that we don’t know how long Wright and some of the others will be out — and it’s unfortunate to hear Baldwin will play the season at 80-85 percent as he manages a knee problem. (UPDATE: Coach Pete Carroll said Wright the “optimistic” estimate is two weeks. The range is typically 2-4 weeks for arthroscopic surgery.)

We’re giving the Seahawks a B-minus for roster strength. Here are grades for each position, based on health and depth (updated 8/29):

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Preseason

Offense, run defense, Dickson could carry secondary

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Logo -- PreseasonWhile the Seahawks work on figuring out their secondary early in the season, it looks like their offense and run defense should be able to carry them.

Playing without senior vet Bradley McDougald, the shuffling secondary had issues stopping Mr. Guaranteed, Kirk Cousins, and Minnesota’s backs and receivers Friday in a 21-20 win by the Vikings. But the run defense was stiff and Russell Wilson and the offense put the Seahawks in the lead by halftime. And Michael Dickson flipped the field on almost every punt — showing what a huge weapon he will be.

Continue reading Offense, run defense, Dickson could carry secondary →

Contracts, The roster

Wagner sends clear messages to Schneider

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Salary cap logoBobby Wagner fired a couple of warning shots at John Schneider on Wednesday — well-placed markers that should have buzzed right by each of the GM’s ears.

Wagner’s messages to Schneider: (1) Make sure you re-sign K.J. Wright and (2) get ready to pay me a lot of money next year. Wright is in the final year of his contract, and Wagner will be up for an extension next offseason, entering the final year of his deal.

There apparently have been no talks between the Seahawks and Wright to this point, which seems to indicate that Schneider is willing to let the 29-year-old star leave rather than pay top dollar next offseason. That would fit Schneider’s new MO of not paying third contracts to the team’s Super Bowl core.

We have already firmly stated we are in favor of extending Wright, a savvy, durable leader who should be good for four more years because his game is not based on speed.

Wagner made it clear he will be watching how the team handles Wright — and don’t be surprised if that affects whether he is amenable to a new deal next year.

Continue reading Wagner sends clear messages to Schneider →

Contracts, Training camp

Hawks keep Brown, but Clark & Wright wait

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Training camp logo2It sounds like Duane Brown will be the Seahawks’ only preseason contract extension this year, with Frank Clark and K.J. Wright having to wait until after the season to see where their futures lie.

A day after we talked about Duane Brown’s possible extension with the Seahawks, they finished it off, adding $36.5 million and three years to this year’s $9.75 million.

As Earl Thomas holds out, some wonder: Why will the Seahawks extend a 33-year-old Pro Bowl left tackle but not a 29-year-old Pro Bowl safety?

We’ve made it clear we’re in favor of paying Thomas, but the Hawks obviously think he is not worth top dollar because speed-based players can fall off the cliff quickly and Thomas has had injury issues in recent seasons.

Good linemen, meanwhile, can play into their mid-30s at a high level, and the Hawks clearly are banking on that with Brown. They figured he’s a good bet at $11 million APY over the next four years, while $14 million APY is too much for Thomas (even if they forgo the injury guarantees and can move on in a couple of years with little cap trouble).

So, if not Thomas, who’s next? Probably no one for now.

Continue reading Hawks keep Brown, but Clark & Wright wait →

The roster, Training camp

This camp is about finding next Super core

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Training camp logo2When the Seahawks put together the best run in franchise history, winning 36 games and a Super Bowl from 2012 to 2014, they did it with about two dozen core players — a third of them named Pro Bowl players during that time.

After “resetting” the team this offseason, the Seahawks have just six players left from that Super Bowl core — and a couple of those guys might not be long for the roster.

That brings us to the No. 1 goal this year, aside from trying to contend for the Super Bowl (we put their O/U at 10 wins): John Schneider and Pete Carroll need to establish the new core for the next championship window. It all starts Thursday when they begin training camp.

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Contracts, The roster

In this case, Thomas has the right to hold out

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Salary cap logo“Extend (me). If you don’t want me, let’s make a trade happen. I understand it’s a bizz.” — Earl Thomas.

K.J. Wright and Earl Thomas are in the same situation, but they are handling it differently. And, in this case, neither is wrong — because John Schneider is.

Wright is taking the high road, not making a stink about his contract — a highly respectable position to take, especially since Schneider and Pete Carroll have done an about-face and made a lot of unexpected moves that have the few remaining veterans wondering about their long-term status with the team.

“Why am I not holding out? I just want to control what I can control,” Wright said at the June minicamp. “I want to get better in the offseason. I believe spring ball is the way to improve yourself. And it’s my job to make sure to build this chemistry with my defense. And I want this defense to be good. I want coach Norton to have a good first year. I’ve always believed you control what you can control, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Thomas, meanwhile, is trying to control his future with the leverage he has: a holdout. In this case, with Schneider and Carroll turning the roster upside-down, the safety’s request to extend him or trade him is very fair. And holding out is a legit way to exercise his dissatisfaction — even if it won’t accomplish anything beyond that.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 15: L.A. Rams
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CHAWK LINES -- Rams at Seahawks

Malik McDowell met with Pete Carroll and John Schneider and issued an apology (which surely was written by the team). He has two strikes, but he will get a third chance to show he is not a total screw-up and waste of a second-round draft pick. As Carroll said, “Let’s hope this isn’t an indicator of things to come.”

“My life and my kids are more important than football,” Cliff Avril told SI.com in a story on Week 4’s NFL bloodbath that included Chris Carson also being lost for the season. Avril, who had spinal surgery in November, seems likely to retire.

No Seahawks will be suspended for the ugly end to the game in Jacksonville. But fines could be coming. The NFL also issued a stern warning about attacking referees in any way (take note, Germain Ifedi).

Bobby Wagner (hamstring) is questionable for the NFC West showdown with the Rams this week. K.J. Wright (concussion) and Mike Davis (ribs) seem like they might be good to go.

 

State of the team, Week 14: At Jacksonville

Despite flaws, Hawks still can beat anyone — time to prove it

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Logo -- At JacksonvilleComing off their watershed win against the Eagles, the Seahawks had a chance to confirm they were ready for a big run into the postseason. All they needed to do was beat the NFL’s best defense a week after beating the best offense.

They couldn’t do it, though, and now they have to beat the Rams next week — and the final two on top of that — to assure themselves of a sixth straight postseason. If they lose another game, they will need big help to get into the playoffs in a loaded NFC.

As ugly as that 30-24 loss in Jacksonville was, the Seahawks showed enough for us to think they still could make a run to the Super Bowl — assuming Russell Wilson quits throwing interceptions and Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright don’t miss any time.

Continue reading Despite flaws, Hawks still can beat anyone — time to prove it →

Preseason, The roster

Hawks vs. Vikings: What we’re watching

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Minnesota logoIt’s been a week of interesting developments for the Seahawks, with Tramaine Brock signing, K.J. Wright out with a knee issue and Justin Britt becoming a rare O-line keeper.

With Brock in, Wright out and a few other personnel comings and goings, we will have plenty to keep an eye on tonight as the Seahawks host Minnesota in their second preseason game.

“It’s a really good test for us,” Pete Carroll said. “It’ll be a really great test for our guys up front on offense; it’s a very, very good defensive front. We look forward in all that we have to try to accomplish in this game. We know we are going against a really good group, so it’ll be a great test for us.

“We are hoping to continue to grow and see areas of emphasis and concern, and kind of get it taken care of so that we are making progress,” he said. “We are looking for progress, really, and there’s a million different areas of that. We don’t want to go take a big step and take a step back and all that. We like to make steady progress, moving forward. We are looking for really good plays on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. We are looking for great effort.”

Here’s what we’re looking for …

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