Seahawks: 3 things we learned from Pete Carroll’s press conference

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll spoke to the media at the NFL combine on Wednesday for about 23 minutes. During that time he answered a lot of questions about a lot of subjects even though he started the press conference by saying he couldn’t say a whole lot about anything.

That’s how speaking with the media goes, I guess. A person doesn’t want to say much but then ends up saying a lot of interesting things.

There were many key takeaways from what Carroll said, such as the surgery that DK Metcalf had after the season was to fix a years-long issue and not a new one. So that’s good. Here are three other notable items.

Three key takeaways from Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s talk with the media at the NFL combine

The defense might be more versatile that previously under Clint Hurtt

Carroll said he had been “itching for some time” to make some schematic changes on defense. One reason Hurtt was promoted from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator is Hurtt’s background has seen him work successfully under different types of defensive philosophies.

Carroll mentioned Hurtt’s “diverse” background which means there should be more 3-4 principles involved in the defense this season. This should mean a more aggressive pass rush as edge rushers should be freed up a bit more.

Rashaad Penny hopefully will be back

Carroll said “hopefully” Rashaad Penny returns after Penny’s confidence “soared” at the end of the season when he ran for 671 yards over the final five games. Of course, the question with Penny is if he can ever stay healthy for a full season and what his contract would look like. He’s talented enough for a big pay day but he gets injured enough where many teams would be afraid of paying him a lot.

Russell Wilson isn’t going anywhere

The Seahawks have “no intention” of trading Russell Wilson, per Carroll. Carroll said he and Wilson have had a “partnership” for several years and communication has always been a key between the two. Carroll implied that any discussion about trading Wilson is simply because it’s the offseason and people need something to talk about.

Russell Wilson shouldn’t be going anywhere, at least not this offseason. Trading him not only costs the Seahawks a good quarterback but hurts the cap space the team has. Trading Wilson simply makes no sense this offseason. Next offseason might be a different story, though.