Star quarterback Russell Wilson said Thursday he is fully committed to the Seahawks. He insists he never requested a trade from Seattle, even though his agent publicly provided a list of four teams — the Bears, Cowboys, Raiders and Saints — for whom Wilson would waive his no-trade clause.
“I think first of all, you know obviously I love Seattle. I love playing here,” Wilson said. “I’ve had a great career here so far. I’ve always wanted to play here for my whole career, obviously. I think there were some unfortunate frustrations after the season. Obviously you want to win it all and do it all, and do everything you can. I think everybody on our team does. We all want to win it. I think, unfortunately, it got a little bit blown out of proportion. I think that my ultimate goal is to win. You know I get paid to win . . . and we’ve done a lot of that over the years. The mission is to continue to do the same, but do a little bit more. I think the reality is that that’s the only thing I’m focused on is winning and doing whatever it takes to win. That’s why I wake up every day and lace my cleats to train every day. That’s what my teammates are doing, too, and so that’s what I’m looking forward to.
“In terms of the trade talks, I think anytime you play professional sports, there’s always a possibility of something happening, right? I think that’s just the reality. I think that there’s a lot of teams out there that people were saying that I was going to, or would go, that I requested a trade. I did not request a trade. I’ve always wanted to play here. The reality is I think calls were getting thrown around and this and that, and I mean that’s just a reality. But I think at the end of the day the real reality is I’m here and I’m here to win. I’m here to win at all.”
Wilson said he had great conversations with coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider after publicly expressing frustration after the season.
The team’s postseason failures surely have driven the discontent. Since back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013-14, the Seahawks are only 3-5 in the playoffs since 2015, failing to get beyond the divisional round.
Wilson mentioned several times in his Thursday press conference his plans were to bring another Lombardi Trophy — or more — back to Seattle.