Seahawks coach Pete Carroll met with reporters Wednesday at the NFL Annual Meetings in Phoenix, covering a variety of topics from injury updates to Russell Wilson’s contract to, of course, the ending of Super Bowl XLIX.
The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta was on hand and provides a transcript here.
One question topic that is sure to linger until Michael Bennett himself speaks on it is the report out of Dallas that said he was looking for a trade and a new contract. The Seahawks have said they have heard no such thing from Bennett, and a day after general manager John Schneider told reporters in Arizona that Bennett had made no such demand, Carroll said the same thing.
“We communicate regularly and I’m in touch with where Mike is and what’s going on, he hasn’t mentioned a thing about any of that,” Carroll said, via the Seattle Times. “It’s never been part of the conversation. I’ll probably see Mike this week, maintain what’s going on. Like so many things that happen, those things come out of somewhere but they are not coming out of the conversations that we have had.”
On the injury front, Carroll said safety Earl Thomas, who recently had shoulder surgery, will “certainly” be back for the start of the season.
As for cornerback Jeremy Lane, who tore his ACL and broke his arm in the Super Bowl while returning an interception, Carroll acknowledged the news might not be as good.
“That’s a long process to get back and we just don’t know how smooth it will be when it gets down to the real play time,” he said. “He will have a great recovery and then it will just be how does he handle the final stages of it and how soon can he get back. He’s pressed for time because it happened in the Super Bowl so we’ll see what happens.’’
Carroll gave a similar prognosis on receiver Paul Richardson, who tore his ACL in Seattle’s postseason win over Carolina: “What we are hearing he is doing exceedingly well. His mentality is good. He is working hard at it. He has been through it before so he does have a background and he does know the staging and all of that so we expect him to have a full recovery.’’
“I don’t know (if he’ll be ready for the start of the season). Like I said about Jeremy, it depends on how they finish that process and if they click properly and if they get back cleanly and all of that. He will be as able to come back as quickly as anyone can his body style, history of injury and all of that should make for a great return.’’
Carroll said he was “really fired up” about the signing of defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin. “I think the fact he is big, physical, strong, tough guy 325 pounds, built well, works out hard. Very, very strong man. Really gives us a great feeling that he can add right into the mix and roll in there. He can play the nose, he can play the three-technique and either spot he plays he will be a physical addition so I think that was a very, very fortunate move for us to make and really looking forward to it.’’
Carroll said they’re still working on sorting things out with their defensive line, and noted that getting a healthy Cassius Marsh back is almost like having another draft pick. Carroll also said Jesse Williams, who is expected to be re-signed soon after being waived earlier this offseason, has had a good offseason and the Seahawks hope he has made a turn in his health after missing two seasons with knee injuries.
The Seahawks will also likely re-sign defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs “in the next day or so,” Carroll said, and they’re still taking with veteran defensive tackle Kevin Williams about a possible return.
On backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who is an unrestricted free agent, Carroll said conversations have been good and that “We want him to be there and he wants to be there, so we should be able to get this worked out.
When asked about center depth following the trade that sent Max Unger to New Orleans, Carroll said the Seahawks could add to their line both via the draft and free agency, and also noted they are trying to get Stephen Schilling re-signed. Schilling, who is currently a free agent, started four games at center last season before ending his season on injured reserve.
On the progress of a potential contract extension with Russell Wilson, Carroll said, “It’s tracking very well. It’s been a process that we have laid out. It’s really putting all the pieces together in due time and it’s happening very well. We have continued concerns about putting it together with some of the guys as well as Russell, but it’s been a big focus for us and the timing is coming. All of the talk and the conversation, the big stuff that came out, I don’t know where it came from (a report that a deal was very close). But we are stepping along this process I think in very good fashion. We are not way out ahead of ourselves. There are no big claims about what we are doing that have been made that are accurate.’’
“It’s a long process. It’s extraordinary ramifications and it’s ongoing and we’ve had great talks. The timing of it has been handled beautifully, expectations of the timing are clear, everybody knows what is going on and it’s clear and we’ll see what happens. There is so much magnitude in this deal and it affects so much and we are very well prepared and it is almost that time.’’
Finally, because there was so much national media on hand, the topic of the Super Bowl ending, which Carroll has addressed several times, came up once again. Carroll said dealing with disappointment won’t be any different than the various other challenges a team faces transitioning from one season to the next.
“It’s not different than any other time,” Carroll said. “It’s just a different story. It’s a different case. You have to deal with it the way you need. I know you guys want to make this like it’s different than something else. It isn’t. It’s the same. What’s happened has already happened and it’s what’s coming up that you deal with. Like last year we dealt with all of the questions about having to repeat and do all of these other things. There will be the same battery of questions like guys are asking and we just have to answer the questions. But our focus, our direction, our mentality is already moving forward.’’
After several questions on the topic, Carroll was asked how long it took him to get over the Super Bowl, and said, “I’m over it. I’m way over that. But I’m still answering questions about it and we have to be prepared to do that and as we revisit the memory, we have to go there, put our toe in the water and get going and that’s what we’ll do.’’
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
