Terry Blount, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Seattle Seahawks confirms Brock Coyle will start at MLB

RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. confirmed Wednesday that rookie Brock Coyle will get is first NFL start at middle linebacker on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

"It's his position to lose, but he can mess it up," Norton said with a chuckle. "If he has a bad week [at practice] we could change our mind. But we know exactly what we're getting and we're very pleased with what we have. He's a guy we have a lot of faith in. That's why he's here."

Starting middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is out indefinitely with a turf toe injury. K.J. Wright moved from his outside linebacker spot to middle linebacker the last two games, but starting Coyle enables Wright to move back outside.

Malcolm Smith moved into Wright's spot, but Smith suffered a groin strain Sunday at Carolina.

"Now Malcolm's out," Norton said. "We had the Super Bowl MVP to step right in, but now we have to make other adjustments. That's why Brock's work in the summer time was so important. He tough, reliable, smart, fast and he fits in well with K.J. Brock, K.J. and Bruce [Irvin] work really well together."

Coyle (6-foot-1, 245 pounds) played college football at Montana and was signed as an undrafted free agent. He was the biggest surprise of training camp in making the 53-man roster.

Norton also is pleased with his other rookie linebacker -- fourth-round draft pick Kevin Pierre-Louis, who had his best game against the Panthers. The Seahawks could have opted to leave Wright in the middle and start Pierre-Louis outside.

"They're both very good football players and it's a very tough decision," Norton said of Coyle and Pierre-Louis. "But Brock had more summer practice with us because Kevin was hurt a lot in the summer. We know Brock is going to pay attention to all the details and will set himself up for a really good performance this week."

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