Talking about what his team's defensive line could look like following Friday's trade for Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll discussed the possibility of Richardson and Michael Bennett lined up as interior pass-rushers with the likes of Cliff Avril and Frank Clark on the edge.  

"That's a good matchup for us," Carroll said.

That might be the understatement of the week when it comes to describing a pass-rush package that would include three Pro-Bowlers and a fourth player, Clark, who had 10 sacks last season.

"This will fit together really well," Carroll said Monday following his team's first practice of the week as it gets ready for its season opener in Green Bay. "We should be good up front against the running game, which is always crucial to us, then we'll see how well we can build our pass rush. I like the mix that we have, this will make a really good matchup for Mike on the inside with Sheldon on one side and Mike on the other. The combination of guys with Cliff, Marcus (Smith) and Frankie outside, that's a good matchup for us. So we like those guys, we like the group, and hopefully they'll be very productive."

When Richardson was asked about his role with the team, the former New York Jets standout said for now he is just playing 3-technique defensive tackle.

"This team is stacked," Richardson said. "… I'm very excited, just very excited to join the (Seahawks) organization.

Asked about joining that "stacked" line, Richardson said he's excited about, "everything about it; just watching those guys on film get after it, I feel like I can fit right in with that. Other than that, just competing. The effort they give on every play, play-in and play-out, you can't find that too often in the league like that."

While Richardson will stick to that 3-technique spot for now, the Seahawks like the versatility he has shown in the past, and his role very well could grow as he becomes more familiar with Seattle's defense.

"Sheldon has a tremendous diversity in what he can do," Carroll said. "He has really played all over the place. He has played inside at 3-technique, he has played nose, he has stood up, he has played end, they've dropped him in coverage. They've done everything with the guy, because he's just an all-around really good athlete and good football player.

"We'll start him off playing inside—we've got to get him ready to play in a week's time—then we'll see how things progress from there, as we always do."

While the trade only occurred late last week, Carroll said Richardson has been on Seattle's radar for "some time."

"We lost Malik McDowell, and that was an area that we were really excited about him coming in and adding in," Carroll said. "Then when we realized we weren't going to have him, it made us look in earnest to see if we could find some way to help that spot. So to come away with Sheldon is a fantastic accomplishment. John (Schneider) did a great job working this thing out. This is a kid who's hungry to play, he's healthy, he's ready to go, and he'll make an impact. He'll be a nice fit with the rest of the guys.

Richardson is already starting to get a feel for what he described as a family-like atmosphere, though he noted his new teammates are "crazy, in a good way."

"The team meetings are nuts," he said. "Team meetings are a little different, they got me today. They cracked a little joke on me in the team meeting, I don't want to go into it, but it was fun. It's fun. It's a fun environment."