<
        >

          NFL Nation

          K.J. Wright back at Seahawks practice; Bobby Wagner feeling 'a lot better'

          play
          Stephen A. calls Wagner 'too sensitive' for reaction to Thomas (1:57)

          Stephen A. Smith weighs in on the Seahawks' "dysfunctional" secondary unit. (1:57)

          • Brady Henderson, ESPNDec 21, 2017, 02:51 AM
            Close
              Brady Henderson is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Henderson covers the Seattle Seahawks. He joined ESPN in 2017 covering the team for Seattle Sports 710-AM. You can follow him via Twitter @BradyHenderson.

          RENTON, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks' banged-up defense got some much-needed good news on Wednesday when K.J. Wright returned to practice, having cleared the league's concussion protocol.

          He was listed as a full participant. The Seahawks held a walk-through, so participation was an estimation of what players would have done in an actual practice.

          Coach Pete Carroll was happy to announce that Wright was back.

          “Yes. That feels good, too," Carroll said. "It feels good to have those guys out there. Those guys have been stalwarts for us for a long time, and to get those guys back out there, it feels good."

          Carroll was referring to Wright and Bobby Wagner, Seattle's pair of Pro Bowl linebackers. Wright missed the team's loss to the Rams on Sunday, while Wagner was noticeably slowed by his lingering hamstring injury. The team removed him midway through the third quarter, by which point the game had gotten well out of hand.

          Carroll said Wagner would practice Wednesday afternoon after taking part in the morning walk-through, though he was listed as a non-participant on the estimated practice report. Wagner told reporters Wednesday that he feels "a lot better" than last week.

          The Seahawks typically don't make players available to the media when their status for an upcoming game is in doubt, which suggests that Wagner is on track to play Sunday at Dallas (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox). The Seahawks need to win that game and their regular-season finale at home against Arizona to have any shot at reaching the playoffs. They'd also need help from other teams, as explained in greater detail here.

          Also of note on Wednesday's estimated practice report was strong safety Bradley McDougald being listed as a non-participant due to a knee injury. That appears to be a new issue.

          Did Not Participate: LB D.J. Alexander (concussion), DT Nazair Jones (ankle), LB Bobby Wagner (hamstring), DL Michael Bennett (knee), SS Bradley McDougald (knee).

          Limited Participation: TE Nick Vannett (shoulder).

          Full Participation: TE Jimmy Graham (knee), LT Duane Brown (ankle), LG Luke Joeckel (knee), LB K.J. Wright (concussion).