K.J. Wright‘s lengthy offseason in free agency looks like it is coming to an end. The veteran linebacker is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Raiders, NFL reporter Josina Anderson tweets. The Raiders met with Wright nearly a month ago, and the parties are belatedly moving forward on an agreement.
The Raiders have battled some linebacker injury trouble and acquired Denzel Perryman from the Panthers last week. While Perryman played for new Las Vegas DC Gus Bradley, so did Wright. Bradley was Seattle’s DC during Wright’s first two NFL seasons nearly a decade ago.
After the Seahawks drafted Jordyn Brooks in the 2020 first round, it appeared Wright would not receive a fourth contract from the team. This Las Vegas agreement will lead to Wright’s first relocation since entering the NFL.
The Seahawks took Wright in the 2011 fourth round and used him as a starter for 10 seasons. The veteran defender was open to a Seattle return but did not want to do so on a discount. However, it is unlikely Wright’s Raiders agreement will approach the two-year, $14MM Seahawks pact he signed in 2019.
Vegas’ linebacking corps brings together a mix of holdovers and former Bradley charges, but this now looks like a deep group that could be considerably better than last year’s corps. The Raiders kept seven linebackers on roster cutdown day, including third-round pick Divine Deablo, who is transitioning from safety. The Silver and Black also have returning starters Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski and Nicholas Morrow on the roster. Morrow has battled an ankle injury, leading to the Perryman acquisition. Wright is unlikely to be joining the Raiders to be a backup, so Vegas’ starting lineup stands to undergo more changes ahead of the season.
Wright, 32, has made 140 starts over the course of his career, working as an outside linebacker in the Seahawks’ 4-3 scheme. Despite his unattached status since March, Wright graded as a top-10 off-ball ‘backer (per Pro Football Focus) last season. He has five 100-plus-tackle seasons, and he notched 11 tackles for loss and 10 passes defensed last year. No only player accomplished that particular double-double in 2020.
Maybe the most underrated linebacker over the past 10 years.
Gaining notoriety in Chicago would be tougher though because they have a LB factory there that has produced HOFs like Butkus, Singletary and Erlacher.
Nice pickup by the Raiders?
Very nice.
He can still play, as of last year. With Gus Bradley in Vegas, it would stand to reason that this would be a quick transition for Wright.
A veteran player, one who can still play, at a position of need for Gruden’s team? Yeah, I think a lot of us connected the dots on this. Perhaps Wright was holding out for Seattle to relent and sign him, but I personally saw the Raiders as a pretty obvious option for him.
Gus Bradley played K.J. Wright as the SLB position in his hybrid scheme. The penciled in starter now is Tanner Muse who is coming off an injury missed rookie season. KJ is probably going to move to the MLB spot and get a green dot on his helmet.
Once again, the headline photo isn’t of KJ Wright
They must have fixed it… Because that certainly is KJ Wright.
Still see a picture of Phil Haynes (#60) not KJ.
I see #50 in that ugly, neon green uniform.
That’s so weird!!! I mean, honestly though, I’d prefer seeing the hideous green…at least it’s actually KJ and not a third string offensive lineman.
What a mistake by Seattle..For sure one of the most underrated players in NFL history
The Seahawks will miss his consistent production.
100% I’m not saying who we have aren’t good either I’m sure they are great..I just really feel KJ is a once a Decade player
Good move for the Silver and Black. The Front 7 needs to take some pressure off the Secondary. The Raiders have depth at Safety but the Corner position is still suspect. The only guy I am not worried about at Corner is Casey Hayward. The rest of the Corners are young even Mullen and Arnette who have basically been thrown in with a Trial By fire over their first few years in the league.
I am also not convinced these guys were coached up either. I feel a lot more comfortable with Bradley.
Both posts I think are fair. I’m not certain that Mullen or Arnette will ever be great, but having Heyward there is already a big improvement. A lot of Arnette’s struggles were due to poor adjustments to receiver stances and his penalties a lot of the time were due to poor understanding of his own technique as to where he was meant to be in relation to offensive scheme or in relation to his own responsibilities on defense. Heyward has a wealth of experience in both areas and if it is a coaching issue rather than a player issue, Bradley has had success with DBs in the past.