The Russell Wilson drama in Seattle is buried, and Pete Carroll will tell you so until he's blue in the face.
The collective football universe has spent many hours and days discussing the Wilson situation, including rumblings of a potential trade to destinations like Chicago, before it ultimately simmered and slithered into the ether before the start of the 2021 draft. In comparison to the current Aaron Rodgers drama in Green Bay, it was rather mild, even if it did include a franchise quarterback and prominent NFL star.
The way Carroll sees it, it was never much of a big deal to begin with.
"It seems like really old news to talk about this because it's been such a long time," Carroll said Friday during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. "The little bit he said carried so much air time that it became bigger than life. Throughout the whole process, Russell, we've always been connected, we've always been talking, we've never not been in communication, and we weren't at all in this time either. A couple things that came out got magnified and the questions came out, and there was a couple things, he was frustrated when he was talking, just like any of us can sometimes emphasize something that's on the top of our mind, and it can be played differently than it really played itself out.
"We've had a really good offseason of working, and there was an ongoing media discussion that I did not take part in, John (Schneider) and I did not, we refused to be party to that, and Russ did what he could once he saw it happening, to stay as quiet as he could because it was going to play and have a life of its own anyway. What it amounted to was I think a refocusing, making sure that we were on the same page, making sure that we were clear so that we could withstand any of the scrutiny that would come towards us, and we did that."
Credit is due to Seattle for refusing to engage in the media process, which neared circus levels before dying down with the passage of time. While most everyone prepared for a bombshell tweet breaking a blockbuster trade involving Wilson, Seattle circled its wagons and collectively clammed up.
Though we haven't heard from Wilson in a while now, the approach seems to have worked.
Carroll told Eisen his quarterback is "fired up about his team, he's fired up about his coaching staff, he's fired up about the season coming up," which is what we should expect from a competitor of Wilson's caliber.
The offseason has had more than its fair share of quarterback drama. While dreaming of Wilson in a new uniform surely excites those who thrive in circles of gossip, rumor and theatrics, it didn't help Seahawks fans sleep at night.
With the Seahawks and Wilson now on the same page, they can return to working toward becoming a better team than the one that fizzled down the stretch in 2020.
