Linebacker Mychal Kendricks is returning to the Seattle Seahawks on a one-year deal worth a maximum value of $5.5 million, a source confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Early last season, Kendricks pled guilty to insider trading charges and was released by the Cleveland Browns before signing with the Seahawks in Week 2 while linebackers K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner were injured. He played just three games before the NFL placed him on indefinite suspension, which lasted eight games, and then was put on injured reserve after suffering a leg and knee injury in his first game back.
While filling in for Wright at weakside linebacker, Kendricks recorded 19 tackles and two sacks in four games.
Kendricks' sentencing on insider trading charges was scheduled for January but has been moved to April 4, a spokesperson with the United States District Court's Eastern District of Pennsylvania told ESPN.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, Kendricks, 28, was in his second season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 when he met Damilare Sonoiki, a Goldman Sachs investment banking analyst from Harvard. From July 2014 through November 2014, the SEC alleges Sonoiki illegally fed Kendricks information about corporate acquisitions before those deals were publicly announced, and those tips helped Kendricks make about $1.2 million in illegal profits.
After charges were announced, Kendricks said in a statement that he was "drawn in by the allure of being more than just a football player." He also said he developed a "false sense of confidence" due to Sonoiki's education and his employment at Goldman Sachs.
"While I didn't fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions," said Kendricks, who said he would repay what was illegally gained despite not taking any of the profits for himself.
Kendricks had signed a one-year contract with Cleveland last June following his release from the Eagles after six seasons.
News of Wednesday's agreement was first reported by NFL Network.