K.J. Wright on his extension: Seattle’s the “perfect place for me”

While the possibility of entering free agency might be enticing to some players, the Seahawks’ K.J. Wright can’t be counted among them.

With 2014 being the final year of his contract with Seattle, Wright was beginning to worry whether or not he’d find himself on the market after the season. That’s no longer a worry, as the Seahawks announced Thursday they’d signed the versatile linebacker to a four-year extension worth $27 million.

Both the money and joining the likes of Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas as a core player locked up long-term are nice incentives for Wright, but he told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “The Huddle” shortly after the announcement of his new deal that staying in Seattle was as important as anything to him.

“I didn’t (want to leave Seattle). Not at all,” Wright said. “I love it here. This is a perfect place for me. … Now (my) mind can be clear and just set on, this will be my home for a good amount of time. I can build a house here and just get settled and just make everything feel right.”

Though extension talks had been ongoing, it took a long time to get to the stage of actually putting pen to paper.

“Talk got started around springtime, but the later on the season went, I thought I was gonna become a free agent,” he said. “Thankfully they got talking, they figured everything out. It feels real good to know that I’m wanted here by the GM (John Schneider), by Coach Carroll, and to know that they have future plans with me.”

At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, Wright has proven to be especially valuable to the Seahawks due to his ability to play at all linebacker spots. He has settled in at weakside linebacker, and he’s in the midst of the best season of his four-year career with three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two sacks and 96 tackles, which is just two tackles away from his career high despite two games being left to play in the regular season.

Even though Wright isn’t the only the Seahawk with a hefty contract, his teammates got right to work on razzing him about it since he’s the latest.

“Everybody’s asking me for money. ‘Let me hold some, K.J.,'” he said. “I’m trying to laugh it off, ignore them, but they’re on me tough today.”