Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said Thursday that he never requested a trade and that he believes his conversations with head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have strengthened his relationship with the team.
Wilson spoke publicly for the first time since February, when a series of comments from him sparked speculation and a growing furor about his future with Seattle.
Wilson repeatedly said that winning is the ultimate cure for any bad taste in the mouth and that any grudge with the team has been left behind.
“We’re on the same page. We are here to do what we are supposed to do, and that is to win it all, ”stated Wilson. “I’m excited. I’m excited about the players we have, excited about where we are. The relationship with coach Carroll couldn’t be stronger. Like I said before, my only focus is on winning. Winning means everything to me. “
But evidently the frustration over the team’s performance had been mounting, sparking a preseason storm that began after Wilson saw Tom Brady add another Super Bowl title in February.
“When I’m sitting at the Super Bowl and watching the Super Bowl, I should be upset right?” asked Wilson. “At the end of the day, you wouldn’t want to be sitting there watching that game. You want to be there and play it, especially when you’ve already played it twice. ”
Seattle won its only Super Bowl title eight years ago, and it’s been seven years since the Seahawks last won the NFC. Seattle hasn’t made it past the divisional round of the playoffs since, and last year they were eliminated in the wild-card round by the divisional rival Rams in Wilson’s first career postseason home loss.
Wilson’s previous comments came after questions arose as to whether the Seahawks were doing enough to present a winning team around them. He specifically mentioned his offensive line as he was tired of taking so many hits.
The conjecture reached a boiling point when Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, told ESPN that his client had not requested a trade, but named four teams – Las Vegas, Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans – that he would be willing to trade for. override a clause in his contract that prohibits him from being sent to another team.
“There were all those things that he had asked for a trade and that’s not true. I didn’t request a trade, and I think that’s where it all came from, ”Wilson said. “And then obviously a lot of teams called, and I think the reality is that I didn’t want to go anywhere else. I wanted to play in Seattle. But if I had to go somewhere else, those would have been the teams I would go to, or consider. “
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