Carroll is waiting for the Kendricks on the field this season

RENTON, Wash .– Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said his team felt linebacker Mychal Kendricks would be available this season despite his current insider hit.

Kendricks, 28, pleaded guilty last September to an insider hit and then signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks a week later, while Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright were wounded. A source close to the situation said in October that Kendricks could be sentenced to a prison term of 30 to 37 months – as reported – based on federal guidelines and the amounts involved in his case.

"We expect him to be part of the team this year," said Carroll, as the Seahawks began their mandatory mini-camp.

Kendricks' sentence has been postponed several times for reasons that remain unclear.

"There is not much I can say that is right for the moment," Carroll said. "Everything is going on and he's really optimistic about the way things are going, but really, not too much to tell, I can not tell you more than that."

The Seahawks brought Kendricks back for a one – year team – friendly contract that reflected the uncertainty surrounding his situation. He did not receive any signing bonuses and no money guaranteed. The base value of his $ 4.5 million contract includes $ 2 million of bonuses in the Active Match Per Match lineup, plus two bonuses of $ 250,000 each related to Kendricks' return to training camp. in the lineup of 53 players during the first week. $ 1 million in gaming and bag time incentives, bringing the maximum value of the transaction to $ 5.5 million.

According to the lawsuit filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, an investment bank analyst Goldman Sachs allegedly illegally fueled Kendricks in 2014 about information about business acquisitions that his bank had been advising before the public announcement of these operations. The lawsuit alleges that these tips helped Kendricks make illegal profits of about $ 1.2 million by buying securities in four companies that are about to be acquired.

Kendricks said in a statement that although he did not understand the details of the illegal transactions well, he knew that it was wrong and that he "wholeheartedly" regretted his actions.

He played three games for Seattle before serving an eight-game suspension in the NFL. His season ended in his first match due to leg and knee injuries that took him to RI.

Kendricks returned to practice these injuries. Carroll said he recently injured his pectoral muscle in the weight room but did not describe it as a serious problem.

If it's actually available this season, the Seahawks will have a surplus of linebackers. They re-signed Wright, whom Kendricks had replaced on the weak side last season. All-professional center linebacker Wagner is under contract for another season, as is Barkevious Mingo, who started on the bright side of Carroll's 4-3 defense last season.

Carroll said the Seahawks were planning on hiring Kendricks on the field along with Wagner and Wright and was perhaps the best linebacker he had in his nine seasons in Seattle.