PALM BEACH, Fla. — As could be expected, the first question Seahawks coach Pete Carroll received when he took the podium Tuesday for his half-hour session with media at the NFL league meetings was about the Russell Wilson trade.
A reporter noted that when Carroll spoke at the NFL scouting combine on March 2, he had said the team had "no intention" of trading Wilson. So what happened?
"Well, yeah, things changed," Carroll said in what could be regarded as one of the bigger understatements of his career.
The reality, of course, is that the Seahawks and Broncos were already deep into the talks that resulted in the trade that occurred just six days later.
In his explanation this time, Carroll stayed away from inferring that Wilson wanted out, as the team made plain was the impetus for the trade — in their view, anyway — in three statements released on March 16.
Instead, he referred to it being "a really good deal" the Seahawks got from the Broncos.
"There were financial issues, there were roster issues, the ability to be really active moving forward in the draft," Carroll said. "... It was all of those elements that came together."
And then the conversation shifted to what Seattle does now.
The Seahawks have just two quarterbacks on their roster in Drew Lock — acquired from Denver as part of the Wilson deal — and third-year player Jacob Eason, a former Lake Stevens and UW standout claimed off waivers last season from the Colts.
Carroll made it clear again the plan is to re-sign free agent Geno Smith, the backup the last three years, to add a third quarterback to the roster.
Smith has signed one-year deals for essentially the veteran minimum the last three seasons.
But with the knowledge that the team views him as a potential starter this time, Smith appears to be playing hardball.
"It just hasn't happened," Carroll said when asked why Smith remains unsigned. "It's a negotiation."
But assuming Smith eventually gets in the fold, Carroll said the Seahawks will not be done.
Asked if the team would still consider adding another quarterback even if Smith re-signs Carroll said yes.
"We are totally in the mentality that the fourth guy may be important to us for the long haul," Carroll said. "So we are definitely still in the quarterback business."
Carroll clarified that could be either another veteran or someone taken in the draft.
"There are some veterans out there to be had," Carroll said. "There are still some guys out there. Yeah, we are still looking."
Assuming Smith re-signs, Carroll said that he would enter the season as "kind of the leader" in the quarterback competition "because he's been with us for so many years. He knows what's going on."
Smith, 31, got three starts for the Seahawks last season with Wilson injured and put up stats that were comparable to Wilson's — a 103.0 passer rating to Wilson's 103.1, for instance, and a 5-1 TD-to-interception ratio, in line with Wilson's 25-6. Seattle's interception rate last year of 1.4 was the third-best in the NFL, a stat Carroll may value as much as any. Smith, though, has just a 13-21 record as a starter, including 1-2 last year.
But Carroll noted that the two losses were at home in tough weather conditions against the Saints and on the road against the Steelers, each three-point losses, the latter in overtime and that Smith then went 20-24 with two TDs to lead a 31-7 win over Jacksonville in his last start before Wilson returned.
"Played almost a perfect game that day," Carroll said, adding that once Smith finally got a chance to play for Seattle "he took advantage of it."
Carroll said because of how Smith played last year he has earned the right to compete to be the starter in 2022.
Smith's arrest on suspicion of DUI on Jan. 10 is not regarded as a factor in negotiations. No charges have been filed.
"This is why it's kind of 'C'mon Geno, get it going (and re-sign),'" Carroll said of Smith having the chance to start. "But he's got time. . ... He's a really tough, competitive kid, which we love. And the mentality. The players love him, and he gets along with everybody, so if it all gets set up the way like it should happen, it's going to be a very competitive opportunity. ... We'll see if Geno can pull it off."
Not that the talk of Smith being the leader means anything has changed with the team's public assessment of Lock.
The Seahawks have made it clear they regarded him as more than a throw-in in the Wilson deal, and in several answers during his 36-minute session with the media here, Carroll talked up the potential of Lock despite an 8-13 record in three seasons as a starter with Denver.
In what was maybe a sign that it's now time to begin moving on from the trade, though, Carroll also referenced Lock's struggles with Denver, which included a 25-20 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
"He's had a lot of turnovers," Carroll said. "But we just have to fix that. We have to change the mentality."
But Carroll said Lock has already made a positive impression in his two official weeks with the team.
"He's doing everything right," Carroll said. "So I can't wait until he starts going with our guys and we get some feedback on that. But we know who he is."
Carroll said of attempting to revive the confidence of Lock — who was the 42nd overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Missouri and had 13 starts in 2020 before losing the job last year to Teddy Bridgewater — that "that's a process that's already begun. ... it's a classic opportunity for us to turn a guy's career around."
Who else could Seattle add?
Carroll, as expected, didn't say.
But one name that maybe can be ruled out for now is Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick held a workout last Wednesday in Seattle that he said he hoped would further convince the Seahawks — or any other team — to at least bring him in for a workout.
But Carroll said that while he has continued to monitor the workouts Kaepernick has been conducting the last few weeks "our conversations have not progressed from the early connection that we made."
Still, if Carroll undoubtedly prefers to now look forward, the specter of Wilson and the legacy he left in 10 years with the Seahawks will hover until Seattle finds a suitable replacement.
And in the kind of coincidence that the NFL could only dream of, the schedule this year has Wilson's new team, Denver, making its once-every-eight-years trip to Seattle.
What does Carroll think of that game?
"It will be kind of a classic," Carroll said. "It will be a nice matchup."
