Carroll, Schneider, and Jody Allen release statements on Russell Wilson trade

March 16th is the start of the new league year, which means former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is now officially a Denver Bronco. If you believe the articles that have surfaced in recent days, the idea of trading Wilson has been swirling around for multiple years and now it’s finally happened. It still feels surreal a week removed from when the news first broke.

Pete Carroll and John Schneider are scheduled to have a press conference at 2:30 PM PT, their first media session since the NFL Combine when they flatly stated they’re not shopping Russell Wilson. Turns out that was a lie but that’s how you keep things undercover when you have something in the works. We’ll have press conference coverage when it happens, but in the meantime the Seahawks organization has released statements from Carroll and Schneider, as well as team owner Jody Allen on Wilson’s departure from the team after ten seasons and the franchise’s only Super Bowl title to date.

Can you spot a pattern? If not the bold emphases will do the job.

Jody Allen, owner

“While Russell made it clear he wanted this change, he made Seattle proud and we are grateful for his decade of leadership on and off the field. We look forward to welcoming our new players and to everyone being fully engaged while working our hardest to win every single day. I trust our leadership to take us into the future, and know we all wish Russell the very best.”

Pete Carroll, head coach

“This has always been a challenging time of year where we have consistently maintained a competitive approach to getting better as a team. As Jody stated, Russ’ desire in doing something different afforded the organization an opportunity to compete in multiple ways. He has always been the ultimate competitor whose leadership and consistency helped shape our culture. Our franchise has won a lot of games and we will always be grateful for the exciting moments and incredible records.”

John Schneider, General Manager

“Russell has been a tremendous player, leader, and member of our organization since the day we drafted him in the third round in 2012. His tireless work ethic has helped make him one of the most successful QBs in NFL history and we thank him for his many contributions on the field and in the community.

“When it became evident that Russell was interested in playing elsewhere, we used that opportunity to explore the market, allowing us to acquire three quality players, tremendous draft capital, and create salary cap flexibility. We have a clear vision about the direction of this team, and this is an exciting time for our organization.”

These statements all put the onus on Wilson as being the one who initiated the trade — he waived his no-trade clause, after all — and that the Seahawks obliged him. At Wilson’s press conference in Denver, he claims he never initiated anything and that the decision to trade him was a mutual feeling.

The processing of the trade is over, but the stories on the dissolving of the Wilson-Seahawks relationship will be told for years to come.