3 K.J. Wright landing spots that would be perfect for the 2021 NFL season

K.J. Wright has consistently performed as one of the NFL’s better linebackers but he remains unsigned heading into the 2021 NFL season. Who should sign him?

When you think about the Seattle Seahawks defense of recent years, linebacker Bobby Wagner is at the forefront of the conversation. Because of that, though, K.J. Wright has largely become one of the most underrated players in the NFL. And perhaps that’s part of the reason why he remains unsigned entering the start of training camp for the 2021 season.

However, any NFL team in need of a linebacker would be a great match for Wright. The 32-year-old has consistently been among the top-30 players at his position in the league. And for anyone worried about him dropping off at this age, he’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career as he graded out as the seventh-best linebacker in the league according to PFF (subscription required) in 2020.

A return to Seattle is still in play at this point in the offseason. But assuming K.J. Wright looks to go to one of the other 31 teams in the league, these three teams would be fantastic landing spots for the one-time Pro Bowler.

Signing K.J. Wright would help these NFL teams greatly in the 2021 season

3. Los Angeles Rams – Rams general manager Les Snead has been aggressive in building his roster but has also done so with a stars-and-scrubs mentality. As such, some areas of the Los Angeles roster are left with a lack of talent and, frankly, could be considered a problem. Linebacker is one of those aforementioned spots.

Right now, the Rams would be starting some combination of Micah Kiser, Kenny Young and Troy Reeder at their two inside linebacker spots. While it might be a longshot to imagine Wright, who spent his entire career to this point with Seattle, joining an NFC West rival, there’s no question that LA could use a player of his caliber to try and shore up the middle of the defense.

2. Cincinnati Bengals – There are high hopes for what the Bengals offense could look like in the 2021 season as Joe Burrow returns from a torn ACL for year two. The offensive line still isn’t great but is undoubtedly improved from last year. Moreover, Cincinnati is rife with weaponry. But the defensive side of the ball is another story as that unit leaves a lot to be desired.

Cincinnati has high hopes for 2020 third-rounder Logan Wilson and there is some promise with Germaine Pratt and Akeem Davis-Gaither. Yet, their linebackers are almost wholly unproven. To try and shore up that side of the ball, bringing Wright into the mix to not only hold a starting spot down but to mentor their young linebacker corps would be a wise course of action for the front office.

1. Green Bay Packers – Now that Aaron Rodgers is going to play for Green Bay in the 2021 season, they have to believe that they must win a Super Bowl this season (or make every move possible in an attempt) if they hope to keep their quarterback around beyond this year. As the Packers have failed to fully address the loss of Blake Martinez, perhaps Wright could be part of that equation.

Green Bay has two second-year players, Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin, who flashed as rookies and are projected to start in 2021 at linebacker. However, both are imperfect players and the depth is a bit of a concern. Therefore, it’s hard not to look at Wright’s all-around ability with the hole at the position for the Packers and not think that he could help the defense tremendously.