With the trade of former No. 4 overall draft pick Aaron Curry to Oakland, the Seattle Seahawks have handed their starting strongside linebacker job to fourth-round rookie K.J. Wright.

Wright outplayed Curry over the first five games of the season and made it nearly impossible for the coaches to keep him off the field. Wright began taking reps with the first-team defense after the Seahawks were blown out 24-0 in Pittsburgh in Week 2 - a game in which Curry struggled immensely.

Wright was the first to take the field in their base defense against Arizona in Week 3 and started the last two games before the bye week.

"He took over, he took over that spot. He just was way ahead of any curve that we would have projected for him," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We just needed him on the field. He really won the job. That's really the best way to explain it."

In his last game with Seattle, Curry had a three-play stretch in the fourth quarter where he blew a coverage, got beaten man to man by Giants tight end Jake Ballard and whiffed on a tackle of Ahmad Bradshaw in the backfield. His play was making it more difficult to justify putting him on the field while Wright was improving.

The Curry trade reinforces the faith the coaching staff has shown in Wright since training camp began.

"I'm honored that they think of me that way so I'm just going to go and do what they ask me to do. Just go out there and play hard, contribute to the team and just play well," Wright said.

Seattle moved him to middle linebacker during camp, a spot he had never played in college. Wright was able to adapt and pick up the position quickly. He started the last two preseason games and the season opener against San Francisco at middle linebacker. He was moved back outside to compete with Curry and quickly readjusted to the familiar position he thrived in while in college.

"A phenomenal learner for a young guy and that comes because he's savvy and has real instincts for the game, it makes sense to him," Carroll said. "He can see something, make a mistake, fix it and it goes away.

"He came to the front, surprised us that he was so well-equipped and he just took advantage of the competitive opportunity, really. He seized it and went for it and kind of blew us away," he said.

Wright hasn't made a big mark from a statistics perspective - he's only made 11 tackles through five games - but he's proved to be far more reliable in coverage. The coaches can trust him to be in the right spot.

"I just know that I can play in this league," Wright said. "Every play you've got to play hard because those guys are professionals. I know I can play in this league and just need to continue to grow as a football player."

With his intelligence and athletic ability, the future for Wright is a bright one.

"We haven't seen nowhere near the peak of his ability," linebackers coach Ken Norton said. "He's still a rookie in the sixth game of his career and he's just learning the ropes as an NFL player."

Notes: Seattle waived RB Allen Bradford on Wednesday after signing him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. Bradford went through one practice with the team on Monday before being released. The team signed LB Heath Farwell to the active roster to take the place of Bradford. ... G Robert Gallery returned to practice for the first time since Week 2. Gallery underwent groin surgery after the team's game against Pittsburgh and hasn't played in a month. ... QB Tarvaris Jackson was limited in practice Wednesday with a pectoral strain. He's been able to throw a football the past few days but his availability this Sunday is still in question. Charlie Whitehurst will start if Jackson is unable to play.