Pete Carroll, Raiders considered former Seahawks QB Russell Wilson in free agency

Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson and the Legion of Boom defense led the Seattle Seahawks through the most successful era the franchise has ever seen from 2012-21. Carroll remained with the team for two seasons following the trade of Wilson to the Denver Broncos, but the Seahawks appeared in just one playoff game during that span from 2022-23.

Wilson is on his third team since leaving the Seahawks after signing with the New York Giants this offseason. Carroll, who spent one season away from coaching, will be back on NFL sidelines in 2025 after becoming the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Carroll took over one of the most quarterback-needy teams in the entire NFL. In an interview on the Get Got Pod with Michael Robinson and Marshawn Lynch, the former Seahawks coach said he and the Raiders front office considered signing Wilson.

 

Feb 2, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (right) celebrates with head coach Pete Carroll after defeating the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

 

 

"With Russ coming up in free agency, we needed a quarterback. So there was conversation in that short amount of time, before we got Geno [Smith] that, who knows? There could be a shot," Carroll said.

Instead, Carroll and the Raiders traded for Smith, shipping the Seahawks a third-round pick that Seattle used to select former Alabama star quarterback Jalen Milroe. The would-be reunion didn't come together, and Wilson went to try and earn another starting role in New York. At this stage in the offseason, Wilson still appears to be the favorite to win that job over Jameis Winston, Jaxson Dart and Tommy DeVito.

In the years since Wilson departed the Seahawks, Carroll said the two have kept in touch. Keeping up with his former players is important to Carroll, he said.

"We’re doing fine," Carroll said of his relationship with Wilson. "I stay in contact with the guys as best I can. Russ was one to call you, and so I’ve heard a lot from him, and I’ve stayed in contact with him throughout, with the same thought of just trying to help him … Geno and I were talking during this last year, too. Just trying to help and be there for them and continue to support them. Because nobody knows those guys as well as I do."