K.J. Wright injury: Seahawks LB out 6 weeks with broken foot

Seattle's defense was dealt a blow Sunday with one of its best going on the shelf for a while.

Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright is expected to be out six weeks with a broken foot, according to head coach Pete Carroll.

Wright suffered the injury during the Seahawks' 19-17 loss on Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers. If the timetable is correct and Wright misses six weeks, that would put him in line to return for the Super Bowl should Seattle make it to that point. However, Wright is staying positive as shown through his twitter account.

Thank you all for your prayers.. I have faith I'll be back in time for the playoffs!
— KJ (@KJ_WRIGHT34) December 9, 2013

With Wright on the mend, Malcolm Smith will be seeing a lot more playing time. Smith is a third-year veteran out of USC who has 36 tackles on the season. Wright ends his regular season with 80 tackles and 1.5 sacks, on pace to break his career-high of 98 tackles from last season.

Over at SB Nation's Seahawks blog, Field Gulls, Danny Kelly shows confidence in Smith's ability to hold things together:

In terms of implications for Seattle's defense, backup Malcolm Smith is playing good football and thankfully provides quality depth behind starter K.J. Wright. The depth past Smith is where it gets shaky, though, so look for Seattle to potentially add a veteran in that weakside linebacker spot to bolster depth before the end of season and playoffs run.

Seattle is already without starting cornerback Brandon Browner on defense, who is facing a one-year suspension for a violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The case is currently pending.