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The Seattle Seahawks hosted linebacker Mychal Kendricks on a free agent visit this week, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The #Seahawks hosted former #Browns LB Mychal Kendricks on a free agent visit today, source said. He’s facing jail time for insider trading, but sentencing isn’t until December...
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 13, 2018
Update: Per Adam Schefter, the Seahawks are signing him to a one-year deal:
LB Mychal Kendricks, released by the Browns following charges of insider trading, is signing a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks, per sources..
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2018
Seattle not likely to waste any time: Kendricks expected to play Monday night vs. Bears.
Kendricks was a second round pick in 2012. going one selection before the Seahawks took a different linebacker: Bobby Wagner. Some considered the two prospects as a toss-up, others lamented that Seattle did not get Kendricks, but Wagner has developed miles ahead of the former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker in the years since. Kendricks played in 85 of a possible 96 games, making 74 starts for the Eagles.
He was signed by the Cleveland Browns in the offseason and was sometimes featured on Hard Knocks, including when the team released him following a report that he was being investigated for insider trading. Kendricks is facing significant jail time — recent reports have it as up to 25 years after pleading guilty to the charges — but could still play this season.
Schefter says that Kendricks is actually facing 30 to 37 months in prison, and reports have conflicted all along. Nobody seems to really know until his sentencing in December.
The Seahawks have a potential issue at outsider linebacker depending on how long it takes for K.J. Wright to be healthy enough to play again as he recovers from knee surgery.
It’s hard to say after one week if Shaquem Griffin is a weakness on the defense, but the combo of outside linebackers Griffin and Barkevious Mingo is a farcry from where the defense is at with Wright. Kendricks, facing the rare white collar crime for an NFL athlete, would potentially help bridge the gap until Wright returns.