West Notes: Seahawks, Cardinals, Raiders

Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright is entering the final year of his contract and is quietly hoping for an extension.

“I want to be here, of course,’’ Wright said (via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times). “The Seahawks know that. Whatever they want to do, they’ll do. It’s my job to be the best that I could be, to make sure that K.J. and this defense is good. They know what it is and let’s get something done.”

Wright is set to earn $7.2MM this offseason before reaching unrestricted free agency. With his 30th birthday coming on July 23, he recognizes that this could be his last chance at a big payday.

Wright has certainly earned a new contract with his on-field performance in recent years. Last year, he racked up 108 total tackles and an interception as he started in all 15 of his games. Last year, he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 18 ranked linebacker and has routinely been a top-20 LB per the advanced metrics since becoming a full-time starter in 2012.

Here’s more from the West divisions:

• Odds are the Cardinals will sign wide receiver Greg Little after minicamp, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. Little likely would have signed with the club after his first tryout, but a hamstring injury got in the way. Little, a second-round of the Browns in 2011, spent three seasons in Cleveland before being waived. Since then, he has had stints with the Raiders, Bills, and Bengals. Little, 29, has played in 54 games with 42 starts over the course of his career. His most productive season came as a rookie when he had 61 catches for 709 yards and two scores. He followed that up with 53 catches for 647 yards and four scores as an NFL sophomore.
• The Raiders‘ kicking competition close between Giorgio Tavecchio and Eddy Piñeiro is extremely close, as Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Tavecchio stands as the only incumbent specialist left on the Raiders’ 2018 offseason roster after the team parted ways with punter Marquette King, long snapper Jon Condo, and longtime kicker Sebastian Janikowski, but it’s possible that they’ll clean house in that department under new head coach Jon Gruden. “I believe we’ll go in through some of the preseason games for sure and give them both an opportunity to kick in game-like situations,” special teams coach Rich Bisaccia said. “We’ll try to create as many situations in practice as we possibly can and certainly when we get to pads. It’s a process and everything matters. … Right now, they’re nip and tuck.”