K.J. Wright is the last man standing from the pre-Russell Wilson era of Seattle Seahawks football, but with free agency looming there’s hardly a guarantee that the standout linebacker will remain with the team.
Wright was on the Jim Rome Show on CBS Sports Radio to talk about his playing future, and the idea of the ol’ “hometown discount” is a non-starter for him.
“I do way too much on the football field to take a discount,” said Wright (via ESPN). “It makes absolutely no sense. If you want to win all these championships and look good on Sundays, you’ve got to compensate your guys that are making plays. ... I have a family and I’m trying to set up long, long-term success for my family.”
While Bobby Wagner gets all of the praise and accolades, Wright has been a pivotal part of the Seahawks’ defense over the past decade. Last season was arguably one of his best to date, with 11 tackles for loss, 10 passes defensed, 2 sacks, and a one-handed interception against the Minnesota Vikings.
At 31 years of age, Seattle may be apprehensive about signing him long-term or even short-term to something more lucrative than his previous two-year, $15.5 million extension he signed back in the 2019 offseason. It’s also more than notable that just last year the team took Jordyn Brooks at 27th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Brooks was increasingly featured following his return from injury in late October. He’s been seen as Wright’s eventual successor and thus far he’s impressed.
But the story here is Wright and you get the sinking feeling that unlike last time, he may be playing his football elsewhere. I know Seahawks fans don’t want that to happen, and neither does K.J.
“That would just be a beautiful story, if I could just ride it all out with the Seahawks,” Wright said. “That’s some legendary-type stuff. And like I said before I left, I believe it would be a great investment for Seattle to keep me because as you’ve seen, since I’ve been here, we’ve been nothing but awesome — always making it to the playoffs, winning our division, so they know how much I want to be here. But at the end of the day, I get it. [Because of the salary cap], they’ve got to clear some space to make things happen, so they’ve got to get busy.”
Get busy indeed, John Schneider and Pete Carroll. I can’t envision K.J. in another uniform other than the Seahawks.