KJ Wright signs with Raiders but Seahawks are OK without him

Former Seahawks linebacker signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday. This is a sad day but Seattle will be OK with Wright. In fact, long-term Seattle should be in much better shape. Yes, Wright was great in the locker room and will help the Raiders. But the time to play Jordyn Brooks and others had come.

Wright signed a one-year deal with the Raiders with no terms officially announced. Possibly this is an incentive-laden deal and likely not to cost the Raiders very much. Seattle had enough to sign Wright but chose not to and this is likely the right decision.

Wright needs to be inducted in the Seahawks Ring of Honor one day. He was very good on the field and an even better human off it. Wright’s true measure is a person and he is invaluable. But an NFL team has to choose their employees with an eye on who could help them win games the most for the current season but also future ones.

Seahawks will be OK without K. J. Wright

Jordyn Brooks is younger than Wright and faster at this point. He probably can’t break up screen passes like Wright because he is honestly the best I have ever seen at doing that. But Brooks is a better tackler than Wright – Brooks missed just 5 percent of his tackles as a rookie in 2020 while Wright missed 10.4 percent last year and has never been at 5 percent – and is more aggressive.

The question will become about discipline. Wright knew his role in the defense while Brooks will still be learning his way some when it comes to what Seattle needs and what fellow linebacker Bobby Wagner expects him to do. But Wright has the skills to be very good. He was a first round pick for a reason and flashed last year that he could be very good.

And Darrell Taylor will be involved in replacing Wright too. Taylor is a better pure pass rusher than Wright ever was and Taylor is basically a rookie this year having missed his true rookie year of 2020 with injury.

Yes, it stinks that Wright is now a Raider. At least he didn’t stay in the NFC West. But the Seahawks are fine with Brooks and Taylor in his place and in the long-term the team is better having let Brooks and Taylor take Wright’s snaps this year.