Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright has spent eight years with the team. He didn’t think there would be a ninth.
“I thought ‘[I’m] toast,'” Wright told KJR, via the Tacoma News-Tribune, regarding his reaction to the re-signing of linebacker Mychal Kendricks by the team.
“I honestly thought I was leaving,” Wright said. “I thought I was gone. I was prepping my family. But they found something to make me happy, and I was like, ‘This is a perfect fit for me. Let’s get rolling.'”
He gets rolling with a two-year deal that pays $5 million to sign, along with a guaranteed salary of $1.5 million and a $1.5 million roster bonus. In edition to the $8 million he’ll make in 2019, Wright is due to earn $7 million in 2020.
Injuries limited Wright to five regular-season games in 2018. He also started the wild-card playoff loss to the Cowboys. He has been a full-time starter since his rookie year of 2011, when he was drafted in the fourth round out of Mississippi State.