Ahead of the start of training camp on Saturday, the Seahawks made a trade to swap out linebackers on their roster.
Seattle sent linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday in exchange for linebacker D.J. Alexander.
Pierre-Louis was a fourth-round pick of the Seahawks in 2014. He played in 34 games over the last three seasons and was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract with the team. Pierre-Louis started one game against Carolina in 2015, where he recorded 11 tackles.
However, Pierre-Louis never played to that level against in smaller stints on defense as an injury replacement, though he was a solid special teams contributor.
Alexander, a fifth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2015, has appeared in all 32 games over the past two seasons for the Chiefs and was named to the Pro Bowl as a special teams performer last year. He earned AFC special teams player of the week honors in Week 17 of the 2015 season when his blocked punt helped secure a Kansas City victory over Oakland.
Special teams is very important to Pete Carroll and the Seahawks. The addition of a standout performer in that area of the game right before the start of camp shows the value they have in their special teams units.
Photo Credit: TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 27: Kevin Pierre-Louis #58 of the Seattle Seahawks tackles Doug Martin #22 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter of the game at Raymond James Stadium on November 27, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)