Mychal Kendricks - Pro Football Rumors

Mychal Kendricks will be on track to play a ninth NFL season. The Seahawks will provide another opportunity, signing the veteran linebacker to their practice squad.

Kendricks will take the place of Damarious Randall, whom the Seahawks promoted to their active roster Wednesday. The Seahawks hosted Kendricks on a visit earlier this month. He will join a practice squad that now has two high-profile players, with Damon Harrison still part of that 16-man unit (despite poaching attempts from two Florida teams).

This will be a third season for the Kendricks-Seahawks partnership. The former Eagles starter landed with the Seahawks in 2018, shortly after the Browns released him when his insider trading scandal surfaced. But sentencing in that case has been delayed many times over the past two years, with the pandemic tabling it again in 2020. Kendricks has also recovered from the torn ACL he suffered in December, prompting the Raiders to take a look. But Kendricks will return to Seattle.

The Seahawks used Kendricks as a starter in 14 games last season, playing him extensively alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright in base sets. Kendricks, 30, made 71 tackles (eight for loss) and recorded three sacks. His extensive usage last season points to a near-future promotion from Seattle’s taxi squad.

Raiders To Host LB Mychal Kendricks

October 10th, 2020 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are circling back to Mychal Kendricks. After discussing a deal with the veteran linebacker this summer, the team will bring him in for a visit, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

This follows the Seahawks’ meeting with their former starter, which took place earlier this week. Kendricks has been a free agent since March, being unattached while rehabbing an ACL tear. Medically cleared in July, Kendricks receiving renewed interest from teams points to the linebacker being at or close to 100%.

Kendricks spent the past two seasons with the Seahawks and played extensively alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, with the team using its base defense frequently. Kendricks recovered from an injury that ended his 2018 season, starting 14 games last season. The ACL tear in Week 17 shut him down again, however.

The former six-year Eagles starter has 91 career starts’ worth of experience. Despite being a career off-ball linebacker, Kendricks has 19 sacks. He served as a three-down player for Philadelphia’s 2017 Super Bowl championship team. While the insider trading charge ended Kendricks’ Cleveland stay, sentencing has been delayed several times in that case. With no news on that front in months, it appears the 30-year-old defender will be free to play a ninth season if signed.

Kendricks would need to navigate the NFL’s increased COVID-19 protocols to sign with the Raiders; these new barriers may make it difficult for him to be available by Week 6. The Raiders already spent this offseason to bolster their linebacking corps, signing Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski to free agent deals.

Seahawks Meet With Mychal Kendricks

October 6th, 2020 at 1:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Mychal Kendricks is visiting with the Seahawks today, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). Kendricks, who spent the last two years with the Seahawks, remains a free agent after passing on at least one offer over the summer.

Kendricks, 29, started in 14 games last year after serving an eight-game suspension for his insider trading matter. Playing alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright on passing downs in the base formation, the veteran logged 71 tackles, three sacks, one interception, and a forced fumble. Then, he finished the year on IR after a late-season ACL tear.

The Seahawks went on to draft Jordyn Brooks in Round 1 and let Kendricks walk in free agency, but he could be on the verge of rejoining the club here in October. The Raiders discussed a deal with Kendricks in October, but the two sides couldn’t come to terms.

If everything’s a go, Kendricks could be active for Sunday night against the Vikings. The Seahawks, who have beat the Vikings six straight times, will look to keep their perfect record going.

Raiders, Mychal Kendricks Discussed Deal

August 14th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders have already allocated more resources than usual to their linebacker spots this year, signing Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski. They are still looking for veteran help.

Mychal Kendricks landed on the Raiders’ radar, and the team attempted to sign him, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The former Eagles, Browns and Seahawks linebacker, however, could not come to terms with the Raiders and remains a free agent.

The former Super Bowl starter faces not only a pending court date after pleading guilty to insider trading but is attempting to return to action after suffering an ACL tear. However, Kendricks has been medically cleared and has seen his court date postponed numerous times since his 2018 plea.

Spending the past two seasons in Seattle, Kendricks played 14 games last year. The 29-year-old ‘backer already served an eight-game suspension for the insider trading crime. He bounced back last year, starting 14 games and playing extensively alongside Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright on passing downs. The Seahawks used their base defense often last season; Kendricks played 61% of Seattle’s defensive snaps. He finished with 71 tackles, three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. The Seahawks, however, drafted Jordyn Brooks in Round 1 and let Kendricks walk in free agency.

Kendricks brings far more starting experience than Kwiatkoski and resides as one of the best remaining free agents. He may need to lower his asking price in order to land with Las Vegas, however.

Mychal Kendricks Medically Cleared

July 16th, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

Mychal Kendricks has been medically cleared to resume playing, according to a source who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). That’s good news for the free agent linebacker, though he still has other hurdles to clear.

Kendricks tore his ACL late last season in the Seahawks’ thriller against the 49ers. It was a tough blow – up until that fateful game, Kendricks had started in all 14 of his games while racking up 71 tackles, three sacks, four passes defensed, and an interception.

Now, he’s healthy, but he’s also in legal limbo. Kendricks pleaded guilty to insider trading in September 2018, and his sentencing date has been postponed numerous times. His timeline will likely hinge on the pandemic, so it’s anyone’s guess as to when Kendricks will appear before the judge.

Technically speaking, Kendricks has the green light to join up with any team, and it stands to reason that he’ll draw some interest. His market value, however, figures to be depressed. Kendricks is coming off of a serious injury, nearing his 30th birthday in September, and hunting for work as owners and GMs fret over decreased revenue and cap room. And, of course, teams won’t be able to actually count on Kendricks’ availability for the 2020 season.

This Date In Transactions History: Browns Sign Mychal Kendricks

June 4th, 2020 at 5:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Two years ago today, Mychal Kendricks agreed to terms with the Browns. At the time, the one-year, $2.25MM deal looked like a solid value pickup for the Browns in the second wave of free agency. Instead, the linebacker never played a down for Cleveland.

What we didn’t know at the time was that Kendricks was involved in a federal investigation for insider trading. Kendricks were aware of the situation, but they say they weren’t clued in on all of the details. Prosecutors alleged that Kendricks and his co-defendant turned $80K in a brokerage account into $1.2MM inside of five months. The insider trading charges he faced could have imprisoned him for up to 37 months, keeping him off the field for at least three years.

When Kendricks’ charges were announced just before the start of the 2018 season, the Browns dropped him. Days later, on Sept. 6, he pleaded guilty in court. Then, just one week after that, Kendricks inked a one-year deal with the Seahawks. Kendricks still had sentencing and a lengthy NFL suspension ahead of him, but Pete Carroll & Co. didn’t want to pass up the chance to sign him at a bargain basement minimum-salaried rate.

Despite the off-the-field issues, Kendricks offered up an impressive resume from his time in Philly, including 74 career starts, 14 sacks, and a 77-tackle campaign in 2017 en route to a Super Bowl ring. Kendricks spent most of 2018 sidelined as he duked it out with the league office, but he returned to form in 2019 as he started in all 14 of his games, tallied 71 stops, and notched three sacks.

Now, Kendricks finds himself in NFL and legal limbo once again. Kendricks was originally set for sentencing on January 23, 2019, but thanks to multiple postponements and the COVID-19 pandemic, Kendricks won’t face the judge until May 29, at the earliest. And, after suffering an ACL tear in January, the Seahawks found linebacker help elsewhere. Depending on how things go from here, Kendricks may eventually find a market for his services as a free agent. Still, it might be a while before we see him back in the fold.

Seahawks Place Mychal Kendricks On IR

January 8th, 2020 at 2:54pm CST by Rory Parks

Jan. 8: The Seahawks have placed Kendricks, who will require knee surgery, on IR, per head coach Pete Carroll. The team will promote OT Chad Wheeler from the practice squad to take Kendricks’ place on the roster.

Dec. 30: If you were watching the thrilling Seahawks-49ers bout last night, you saw Seattle linebacker Mychal Kendricks in obvious pain after making a tackle along the sidelines in the third quarter. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Kendricks is believed to have suffered a torn ACL, which would obviously rule him out of the Seahawks’ playoff run (Twitter link).

It’s a tough blow for Seattle, as Kendricks started all 14 games in which he appeared this season and is an important piece of the team’s front seven. Kendricks has compiled 71 tackles, three sacks, four passes defensed, and an interception in 2019.

Of course, this could be last we hear of Kendricks for awhile. He pleaded guilty to insider trading in September 2018, and while his sentencing date has been postponed five times, he is currently scheduled to be sentenced in February 2020.

The Seahawks will travel to Philadelphia to battle the NFC East champion Eagles on wildcard weekend, which is about as favorable of a draw as they could have hoped for. Both teams are far from healthy, but the Eagles have dealt with a historic number of injuries for a playoff squad, so Seattle will have a good chance to advance to the divisional round and perhaps earn a rematch with the 49ers.

Injury Updates: Cook, Mack, Staley, Ford, Kendricks

December 7th, 2019 at 8:18pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

All the latest injury updates as we await kickoff in the morning:

Vikings fans were left holding their breath on Monday night, when Stefon Diggs and Dalvin Cook went down with injuries on the same play. Diggs soon returned to the game, and it looks like Cook is alright as well. The star running back aggravated a pre-existing injury during Minnesota’s loss to Seattle, but he was removed from the final injury report on Friday and is all systems go for Sunday’s game against the Lions. It’s still possible the Vikings seek to lessen his workload, in which case promising backup Alexander Mattison would pick up the slack.
Speaking of banged up running backs, the Colts’ Marlon Mack got back to a full practice and will make his return Sunday against the Bucs. Mack has missed the past two games with a hand injury, and Indianapolis could really use him as they’ve lost four of their past five games. Mack had minor surgery on his hand a few weeks back.
Joe Staley is returning from injury for the second time this season. The 49ers’ left tackle has missed nine games this year due to various ailments, but is returning for this weekend’s pivotal game against the Saints. San Francisco has obviously been getting by just fine without him, but his presence will be a huge boost as they go up against a really tough New Orleans defensive front. Staley isn’t the only key piece the 49ers are getting back, as pass-rusher Dee Ford will also make his return to the lineup. Ford, who signed a massive five-year, $85MM deal with his new team after getting traded from the Chiefs, has missed each of the past two games with a quad injury.
The Seahawks’ defense looks like it’ll be a bit shorthanded, as Mychal Kendricks is being listed as doubtful for their Sunday Night Football game against the Rams. This will be the linebacker’s first missed game of the season, and he has started all 12 for Seattle. Rookie third-round pick Cody Barton could get his first career start as a result, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.

NFC West Notes: Kendricks, Williams, 49ers

November 18th, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by Rory Parks

Mychal Kendricks‘ sentencing date keeps getting postponed, and the Seahawks keep reaping the rewards. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com, Kendricks is now due to be sentenced for insider trading — which he pleaded guilty to in September 2018 — in February 2020 (Twitter link). The date has been pushed back five times now, and instead of losing Kendricks on November 21 (the most recent date), Seattle will have their starting weakside ‘backer for its playoff run.

Now for more from the NFC West:

The Cardinals signed tight end Maxx Williams to a modest one-year, $805K pact this offseason, but they have been impressed enough with his performance — especially as a pass blocker — to sign him to an extension several days ago. And he will get a sizable raise, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the two-year pact, which keeps Williams in the desert through 2021, is worth $7MM (Twitter link).
49ers CB Jason Verrett and DL Kentavius Street are both getting healthier and are candidates to come off of IR at some point this season, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (citing head coach Kyle Shanahan) tweets. Both players have had difficult injury luck in their careers, so this is encouraging news, and San Francisco would surely love to have Verrett and Street as depth for the stretch run.
The news is not as good for 49ers rookie WR Jalen Hurd, as Shanahan says it’s unlikely Hurd will be ready to come off of IR this year (Twitter link via Maiocco).
The 49ers are also planning on being without DE Dee Ford for a couple of weeks, per Maiocco (via Twitter). Injuries have limited Ford during his first year in San Francisco, though he has managed to post 6.5 sacks. Ford is currently dealing with a hamstring injury.