Four players the Seahawks could trade before the season
By Geoff Shull
Seahawks trade number 3: LB KJ Wright to the Washington Football Team
This is where the trades get a little more interesting. KJ Wright is one of my favorite players on the Seahawks. I love underdogs. Wright has been an under the radar star for years. Not always making the flashy plays, but making the right one.
He plays with such veteran savviness, a sky-high football IQ and leadership that any team would benefit from having on their roster. So you may wonder, why trade him? The answer is simple. The Seahawks linebacker room is busting at the seams with talent.
Bobby Wagner is coming into this off-season healthy and ready to dominate. Bruce Irvin, the presumed SAM, is still an athletic marvel and brings much-needed speed to the defense. First-round draft pick Jordyn Brooks looks like the real deal and is already competing with Wright for the starting WLB spot.
Meanwhile, a couple of last years guys in Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven have been impressing coaches with their improvements. The team just has so much talent at the position, it is truly a blessing. So, the smart thing for the Seahawks to do would be to use this to their advantage. Let’s make a trade.
My proposed trade:
Why this trade makes sense for both parties:
Seahawks: The Seahawks were labeled as the deepest team in terms of linebacker depth. The area that is the weakest on their roster is the defensive tackle group. Jonathan Allen has accumulated 15 sacks and 18 TFL over the last 3 seasons.
Allen’s 2019 season stats: 68 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks and 29 QB pressures.
He would bring some much needed internal pass rush to the team as well as starting experience. Allen is just 25 and has his best years ahead of him. Allen’s contract has a cap hit of $3 million this year and $10 million next.
Washington: The Washington Football Team was labeled as the deepest team in terms of defensive tackle depth. The area that is their weakest on their roster is the linebacker group. KJ Wright would bring some much-needed veteran savviness to a very young group.
Wright’s 2019 season stats read:132 tackles, 11 passes defended, 5 tackles for a loss, and 3 Interceptions.
This trade would allow 2018 first rounder Daron Payne to slot into the starting spot. This would also clear $10 million in cap space for the 2021 season allowing the team to be aggressive in free agency.
How this affects both teams cap space for 2020 and 2021:
Team Seahawks Washington
2020 +6.5 million -6.5 million
2021 -10 million +10 million