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Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright needs to have his knee scoped, and there is no timeline on his return per Pete Carroll.
Some Seahawks injury updates from Pete Carroll: K.J. Wright having his knee scoped, no word on timeline; Tedric Thompson day-to-day with stringer; Frank Clark DNP today due to a hyper-extended elbow; Dion Jordan (leg) is making progress, making a bid to play in opener.
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) August 27, 2018
There was no known injury prior to Seattle’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday, but Carroll noted that something was “just not right” with Wright’s knee following the game.
Pete Carroll said he doesn’t know if Pro Bowl LB K.J. Wright will play in #Seahawks’ opener Sept 9 at DEN because of sudden need for arthroscopic knee surgery. Something “just not right” after he played Fri at MIN. Rookie Shaquem Griffin now in line to possibly start opener pic.twitter.com/zAJo1kPJT4
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 27, 2018
Wright has played in 107 games since being a fourth round draft pick in 2011, missing a total of five games in that time. He missed one start last season, a 42-7 loss to the LA Rams in Week 15.
If Wright is unable to go by Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, then rookie Shaquem Griffin could be making his first start in his very first NFL opportunity. With all due respect to Griffin, that figures to be a significant drop-off from Wright, a Pro Bowler in 2015 who has been a key linebacker in coverage among other things.
Update: Without much information (I WANT TO EMPHASIZE WITHOUT MUCH INFORMATION), resident Twitter doctor David Chao tells me that he would hope K.J. Wright can return in “2-4 weeks” but would need to know more. He also reminds me that teams do not need to report injuries during the preseason.