Salk: How Seahawks are back in their ‘wheelhouse’ with NFL Draft

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have made the rounds over the past week in the wake of Seattle’s trade of superstar quarterback Russell Wilson.

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Carroll was in the spotlight by himself Tuesday morning on Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Mike Salk Show, and while he did provide an inside look into how much he fought to convince Wilson to stay with the team, that perhaps wasn’t the biggest takeaway. Because as Salk explained the next morning, Carroll seems as enthusiastic as ever about his team’s future.

“I would say a few things stand out specifically,” Salk said Wednesday about his conversation with Carroll. “No. 1, Pete is in a really good mood. He is exuberant, he is excited. He does seem to be a little bit free of some of the burdens that were over him the last couple of years – maybe the relationship with Russ and the strain, etc. But more than anything, he seems really excited for the next couple of drafts and all the picks they have.”

And that is certainly something that has taken a completely different shape since the Wilson trade. The deal with the Denver Broncos netted the Seahawks not just three players – tight end Noah Fant, QB Drew Lock and defensive lineman Shelby Harris – but also Denver’s first-round and second-round picks in both 2022 and 2023 as well as an additional fifth-round pick this year (Seattle also sent a 2022 fourth-rounder to Denver with Wilson).

“It was an opportunity in many directions,” Carroll told Salk on Tuesday. “The difference in what’s just happened with us going into the draft this year and next year – next year’s huge. Two ones and two twos next year, you know. It’s a huge change in what happens there. Plus, if you can understand the depth of the financial burden that you’re in with the big contracts, you know, that diminishes your chances of improving your team.”

That financial flexibility afforded by traded Wilson is at least partially why Seahawks chair Jody Allen, according to Carroll, told Carroll and Schneider that they are “back in the wheelhouse” following the Wilson trade.

Salk dug further into that, asking Carroll to explain exactly what he meant when he shared that anecdote in a press conference last week.

“She knows – because she’s been around us enough – that we’re always firing ideas and thoughts and challenges towards her, ways and things that we would like attempt to do and all that, so she realized that this is it is a creative moment for for us,” Carroll responded.

And for Salk, he can understand after hearing that why Carroll is in such a good mood.

“I will agree, this is where they’ve shined in the past and maybe they got caught up in almost a tunnel-vision situation the last few years,” Salk said.

You can hear the full segment during Need To Know from Wednesday’s edition of The Mike Salk Show starting about 15 minutes in at this link or in the player below.

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