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It’s safe to assume the current NFL season hasn’t panned out how Russell Wilson envisioned when he was sent to the Broncos in a blockbuster trade that saw Geno Smith step up to fill the void the man he replaced in Seattle left at the quarterback position.
It’s also safe to assume there weren’t many people who would’ve guessed the 6-3 Seahawks would have a better record than a 3-5 Denver squad at this point in the season. However, Pete Carroll has taken an incredible amount of joy in being able to pull out the receipts he collected from those who doubted his team heading into the year as Seattle looks to keep its impressive campaign going when they face off against the Buccaneers in Munich, Germany on Sunday.
It’s become increasingly clear Carroll and Wilson didn’t always see eye-to-eye during their time together in Seattle; the head coach has claimed he didn’t play an instrumental role in the trade, but there are plenty of people out there who are convinced he was actually playing 4D chess because he knew the QB was washed.
While you can debate how large that rift actually was, Carroll made it evident one existed when he threw some shade at Wilson while praising Geno Smith for helping to streamline the offensive play-calling process by agreeing to wear a wristband that makes decisions easier to coordinate—an accessory he implied his former QB was resistant to adding to his on-the-field wardrobe.
It didn’t take long for Wilson to catch wind of those comments—and it appears we have some Incredibly Dumb NFL Drama on our hands as a result.
Russell Wilson fired a shot of his own at Pete Carroll after getting called out for refusing to wear a wristband
On Wednesday, Broncos beat reporter Zac Stevens got the chance to ask Wilson about Carroll’s comments, and the quarterback fired back by pointing out he “won a lot of games” in Seattle without the assistance of a wristband.
Russell Wilson on not wearing a wristband in Seattle: “Won a lot of games without one on the wrist”
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) November 9, 2022
Both Wilson and Carroll will always be able to brag about their decisive victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII (just like they’ll spend the rest of their life randomly waking up in a panic after having a nightmare about the decision to throw the ball on the goal line in the closing minute of The Big Game the following year).
As a result, this seems like a very petty issue for the two men to butt heads over—but I’d be lying if I said I’m not very here for the drama.