Russell Wilson: Relationship with Pete Carroll couldn’t be stronger

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Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks appear to be on the same page in regards to the 2021 season after an offseason where the star quarterback publicly expressed frustrations with the team for one of the few times in his career.

However, Wilson now says the episode and the conversations that ensued between him and the Seahawks this spring have made his relationship with head coach Pete Carroll stronger than ever.

“I had a great conversation with coach Carroll, you know, had a really great conversation with John [Schneider] too, and coach Carroll and I spent a lot of time together one-on-one and we’re on the same page,” Wilson said on Thursday. “We’re here to do what we’re meant to do, and that’s to win it all. Now I’m excited. I’m excited about who we have, the guys we have, excited where we are. Coach Carroll and I’s relationship couldn’t be stronger on it. My focus is to win and winning is everything to me.”

Wilson said that he never requested a trade from the Seahawks, though his agent publicly stated four teams he’d waive his no-trade clause for should Seattle have tried to move him. Wilson expressed a frustration with getting hit and indicated he wanted more say in personnel matters.

After his comments after the season, Wilson didn’t address the matter publicly in the months since with the speculation about his future in Seattle simmering in the background. Wilson was asked why he didn’t try to address the matter to put it behind them sooner.

“Sometimes things are family matters and not everybody else is a part of it at the time,” Wilson said. “Because the reality is is that, there was calls going around that I could have possibly been traded. And so, you know, I think the reality is is that we had to have a lot of conversations, we had some great ones along the way and it made our relationship stronger, really, me and Pete and John and all that.”

Wilson reiterated multiple times during the conversation that he’s just focused on winning, getting back to the Super Bowl and winning more titles in Seattle.

“I know that we can do it, do it again,” Wilson said. “And then so for me personally, I hope I play my whole career here. That’s my mission. That’s my goal. And at the end of the day, winning is everything to me. Winning is the thing that I think about every morning and every night. Hopefully we’ll win a lot more. Hopefully we can win several moving forward.”