There were growing concerns that the Las Vegas Raiders’ linebacker corps was getting depleted. With injuries piling up, the team’s brass acquired Denzel Perryman via trade. So, does this mean fans can forget about K.J. Wright coming to the Silver and Black?
Perhaps, there was a growing sense of uneasiness when the Raiders realized how thin they were getting at linebacker. For months, fans have been pleading for the Silver and Black to sign Wright. This is for good reason as well, the former Seattle Seahawk is a Pro Bowl-caliber defender that’s familiar with Gus Bradley. A player of that magnitude could have a tremendous impact and this was before the injuries added up.
To Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock’s credit, they took action and acquired some help. Perryman is by no means a scrub, he has a Pro Football Focus run-defense grade of 86.3 to his credit. He’s also seen improvement in coverage as well, his grade per PFF, jumped from 54.7 in 2019, to 74.1 last year. The trade itself received a B+ grade from CBS Sports, citing that ‘he has injury issues, but has proven to be effective when he’s on the field.‘
So who’s going to sign Wright?
At one point, it seemed that the decision was going to come down to either the Seahawks or the Raiders. However, you would think that with Perryman’s arrival, Las Vegas is out of the running. The injuries to Nicholas Morrow appear to be serious enough that he’ll miss significant time. The Raiders could still find a way to financially make room for Wright, perhaps cutting Jalen Richard.
What’s really interesting is that Seattle doesn’t appear to be interested in Wright’s services now either. Earlier in the week, Mike Dugar of The Athletic shed some light from the Seahawks’ perspective.
“The Seahawks are not going to sign K.J. Wright because of Burr-Kirven’s injury. Burr-Kirven is a backup linebacker. Wright will not sign with Seattle to be a backup linebacker. Seattle chose to move on from Wright because the team likes Brooks, its first-round pick in 2020.”
So, it appears the Seahawks are happy with what they have and the Raiders have seemingly filled their void with Perryman. Unless something happens between now and the regular season, Raider Nation might have to accept Wright isn’t coming to Vegas after all.
Raiders: What Happens in Vegas, Doesn’t Always Stay In Vegas
*Top Photo: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports