K.J. Wright says he plans to be ready Week 1 for Seahawks

When the Seattle Seahawks came on the clock in the 2020 NFL Draft nearly everyone expected the team to trade back in order to add more picks to the draft arsenal before selecting a player that would surprise people. The Hawks did half of that, standing pat and using their native first round pick to select a player for the first time since 2011 and then drafting linebacker Jordyn Brooks out of Texas Tech.

There is no question Brooks is an impressive player with the skillset to potentially replace Bobby Wagner in the middle of the defense at some point in the future. However, once the initial surprise of the selection wore off, the immediate reaction of many fans was to question what the pick meant for K.J. Wright.

Within a week worries of retirement were largely put to rest when Seahawks general manager John Schneider told Sports Radio KJR that Wright had undergone shoulder surgery during the offseason and the specifics of when he would be able to return to the field were unknown at that point.

That certainly addressed the initial concerns regarding Wright, and provided a large amount of explanation for the selection of Brooks beyond just the potential of being the middle linebacker of the future. On Thursday Wright provided an update on his recovery and possible timeline while speaking with Ian Furness.

So, Wright stating that he intends to be ready for Week 1 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, which is good news for Seattle fans and bad news for opponents trying to sneak a screen pass past the Hawks defense.

It could also be bad news for the other members of the team in the linebacker room, and should make for some very interesting at the competition come training camp.