Seahawks' Pete Carroll Tried to Keep Russell Wilson Until It 'Wasn't Meaningful'

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll went on Seattle Sports 710's Mike Salk Show and spoke about the team trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.

Of note, Carroll said he tried to keep Wilson before the team eventually decided to pull off the deal (h/t Nick Shook of NFL.com).

"There was so much compelling reasoning why he would stay because of all of the history and all the time spent. That was exactly where I was coming from, just to use the logic of it."

"When you've built a relationship over a long period of time, there's great benefits to that moving forward and well beyond your career and stuff. Those are all parts of the conversation."

"What I continue to say, Mike, I had no intention of making a move at all while guys were under contract, and we were pleased with what was going on and all. So, I fought for the logic of that for a good while until it wasn't meaningful anymore to stick with that."

Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler who led Seattle to eight playoff appearances, two NFC titles and one Super Bowl victory in 10 seasons. He's completed 65 percent of his passes for 292 touchdowns (87 interceptions) and 37,059 yards for his career.

From the Seahawks' perspective, Wilson is no longer in town because he didn't want to be on the team anymore.

That was certainly the case based on statements from team brass, as Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic noted:

However, Lindsay Jones of The Athletic caught up with Wilson, and he said the parting of ways "was definitely mutual."

Tensions between Wilson and the Seahawks has reportedly existed for at least a few years. Wilson was clearly upset that Carroll parted ways with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after the 2020 season and even penned an open letter to his former OC.

Wilson thrived in a pass-happy offense in 2020, but the Seahawks went back to establishing the run by the end of the season with Carroll. After the season, Wilson went on the Dan Patrick Show and said he wanted more input on personnel decisions.

Last year did not go well, with Wilson and the Seahawks struggling to a 7-10 record. Now he's in Denver, and Wilson is looking forward to his career's second act.

Wilson said to reporters: "My goal is to play 10 or 12 more years and hopefully win three, four more Super Bowls, that's the plan. That's the mindset. That's why I came here, to finish my career here and hopefully finish on top as a champion. And do it multiple times."

As for Seattle, the team is back to the drawing board with a rebuild. The Seahawks own the No. 9 overall pick and also have some potential trading options, including the Cleveland Browns' Baker Mayfield and the San Francisco 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo.