Sentencing Hearing Postponed for Seahawks Free Agent LB Mychal Kendricks

While recovering from a torn ACL, Kendricks' legal issues also remain unresolved, which will likely prevent him from signing with a team anytime soon.

For the fifth time, free agent linebacker Mychal Kendricks' pending sentencing hearing for insider trading charges has been postponed.

Kendricks, who filed a guilty plea in September 2018 weeks before signing with the Seahawks, was expected to finally learn of his fate next week. However, for undisclosed reasons per John Gilbert of Field Gulls, the hearing appears to have been rescheduled again until May 29.

Set to turn 30 years old in September, Kendricks started 14 games for the Seahawks in 2019, finishing with 71 tackles, 3.0 sacks, an interception, and four passes defensed. In eight NFL seasons, Kendricks has recorded 548 tackles, 19.0 sacks, and four interceptions in 103 career games.

Playing SAM linebacker, Kendricks provided a boost as a blitzer for a pass rush that struggled to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks throughout the course of the season. Moving forward, coach Pete Carroll has expressed interest in potentially re-signing him down the road, though his return isn't imminent.

"Mychal was an exciting player for us out there," Carroll said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "And he had a lot of effect on the pass rush when he was in there and we pressured with him and all that."

After tearing his ACL in Seattle's season finale in late December, Kendricks faces an increasingly uncertain playing future. Along with rehabbing his surgically repaired knee, his legal woes remain unresolved for the time being, which make it improbable he will sign with an NFL team anytime soon.

From the Seahawks perspective, Monday's trade to acquire Quinton Dunbar from the Redskins as well as the emergence of second-year linebacker Cody Barton could diminish the chances of re-signing Kendricks. Add in the signing of versatile veteran Bruce Irvin and there may not be any need for his services at all.

Still, assuming he stays on track in his recovery and his sentencing finally takes place in a couple of months, which isn't a guarantee given the current coronavirus pandemic, Kendricks could have a chance to latch on with the Seahawks or another team at some point later in the summer.