Seattle Seahawks, K.J. Wright Agree to Four-Year Extension

Seattle Seahawks and linebacker K.J. Wright have agreed to a four-year contract extension

The Seattle Seahawks have signed linebacker K.J. Wright to a four-year, $27 million contract extension, according to the Seattle Times.

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Wright was going to be a free agent after the season and most definitely would have been a hot commodity for a lot of teams trying to upgrade their linebacker corps. According to the Seattle Times report, the Seahawks considered Wright a must-re-sign and may have been able to do so because of cap space cleared by trading Percy Harvin to the New York Jets earlier in the season.

Based on twitter records, Dave Softy Mahler of “The Dave Softy Mahler Show” in Seattle was the first to break the story on twitter.

Seahawks just announced that KJ Wright has been signed to a 4 year extension. Congrats to #50!!!
— Dave “Softy” Mahler (@Softykjr) December 18, 2014

Wright has started all 14 games for the Seahawks this season and is leading the team in tackles with 96 combined tackles.

Pete Carroll was very pleased with the team signing Wright and said this in his statement:

"“K.J. is the epitome of a team guy. We are excited to reward a player of his caliber for all the hard work he has put in over the years to become an important piece of our defense.”"

Wright has been one of the key pieces to Seattle’s great defense over the past four seasons. He’s one of the more versatile linebackers in the league because he’s great against the run, totaling five tackles for a loss this season. Wright also is one of the best cover linebackers in the league and has three passes defended on the season.

Because Wright can cover tight ends so well, the Seahawks often don’t have to bring a “nickel” or “dime” cornerback out on the field, which allows Seattle to be equally protected against the run and pass.

While signing Wright is a big move for the Seahawks heading into the offseason, the team is approaching a crossroads and will have to decide if and how they can keep players on expiring contracts like Cliff Avril, Russell Wilson, and others within the next few seasons.

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