Undrafted rookie Brock Coyle likely to start for Seahawks at middle linebacker

The Seahawks have been without middle linebacker Bobby Wagner for the past two games since he suffered a turf toe injury against Dallas, but they had the luxury of moving veteran outside linebacker K.J. Wright into the middle, a position he has played in the past, while using part-time starter Malcolm Smith in Wright’s usual spot.

But with Smith now dealing with a groin injury that could keep him out this week, the Seahawks’ linebacker depth is being tested even more, and it appears that Brock Coyle, an undrafted rookie out of Montana, is going to start at middle linebacker this week.

Coyle’s agent first broke that news via twitter last night, then Wright indicated on Sports Radio 950 KJR that he was moving back to outside linebacker.

Congrats to clients Brock Coyle #Seahawks with his first start this weekend against Benson Mayowa #RaiderNation @BrockCoyle56 @Benny_b0y10

— Foster &Easley (@SportsManagers) October 29, 2014

Well, K.J. Wright tells us, @IanKJR , that he will not be starting at the middle this week, but will go back to his outside spot. #Seahawks

— Jason Puckett (@JasonPuckettKJR) October 29, 2014

Asked about Coyle’s agent’s tweet, linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. confirmed that the rookie is likely to start.

“Well, it’s his position to lose,” Norton said. “He’s in there right now. He could mess it up with a bad week, we could change our mind, but we were pleasantly surprised with Brock and his performance this summer throughout camp, throughout the preseason—he stepped in when Bobby was out then, he’s going to do the same thing now. We know exactly what we’re getting, and we’re very pleased with what we have. That’s why he’s here.”

While Coyle has primarily been a special teams player this season, playing just eight snaps on defense, but he did play extensively in the preseason while Wagner was recovering from an hamstring injury, so Norton is confident in the rookie.

“That’s why depth is so important,” Norton said. “Brock’s work that he had with Bobby out during the summer was very important. We know exactly what we’re getting. He’s a guy who we have a lot of faith in. He’s really tough, fast, smart, reliable, fast. He fits in really well with K.J., they work really well together. He, K.J. and Bruce and a really good tandem.”

As Norton notes, the base defense would likely be Wright, Coyle and Bruce Irvin, but that doesn’t mean others won’t be involved, most notably rookie Kevin Pierre-Louis, who played well while filling in for Smith on Sunday. The Seahawks use Irvin as an end at times in pass rushing situations, and Carroll said they want to rotate as many players in as possible, so one possibility would be use Wright and Pierre-Louis as the two linebackers in nickel situations, getting the faster Pierre-Louis on the field for Coyle.

“We’re trying to get everybody rotating at this point,” Carroll said. “We want everybody that’s dressed to play if we can do it and utilized the while roster, and that applies there too.”

For a bit more on Coyle, here’s something I wrote on him from training camp.