Russell Wilson absolutely torches Pete Carroll for letting his potential MVP season go up in flames

A new report reveals previously unknown details about the drama brewing between quarterback Russell Wilson and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll in 2019. 

All good things must come to an end, especially when it comes to elite quarterbacks.

In today’s NFL, talented quarterbacks know what they command on the market. Kyler Murray pressured the Arizona Cardinals to pay up now for future security in Glendale, and quarterbacks all over the league are now taking their teams to task for putting — or not putting — them in a prime position to win it all.

If Tom Brady can leave New England and Aaron Rodgers can toy with leaving Green Bay, anything is possible. When the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos earlier this spring, it’s difficult to say that this wasn’t evidently on the horizon.

There have been continued reports about Wilson’s dissatisfaction with Seattle for the past few years, and before that, there was rumored dissatisfaction among a Seahawks unit that believed Carroll gave a young Wilson preferential treatment. Ultimately, the untenable relationship reached a breaking point when Wilson pushed to get out of Seattle, but it turns out the conflict was brewing long before then.

According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Wilson blamed Carroll for not letting him cook all the way back in 2019.

"“Leading up to an October 2019 game at the Atlanta Falcons, Wilson’s fast start had made him one of the prime early-season contenders for MVP, an award he badly wanted to win. With the Baltimore Ravens and eventual winner Lamar Jackson on a bye, this was Wilson’s chance to pull ahead. He threw two touchdowns as the Seahawks jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead but attempted only five passes in the second half. Afterward, according to a source who spoke with the quarterback, Wilson was livid at how Carroll had taken his foot off the gas, believing it had cost him a chance to grab hold of the MVP race.”"

Russell Wilson blames Pete Carroll for missing out on 2019 MVP

According to Henderson, Wilson “stewed” when he accepted his Walter Payton Man of the Year Award at Super Bowl LV.

“The game was an unsettling reminder of what he wanted and didn’t have, of where his career was after nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks as compared to the quarterbacks on the field before him,” summarized Henderson. For anyone who saw Wilson’s face during the game, his expressions were all too easy to read: he clearly wasn’t happy sitting on the sidelines.

“You know what I hate: I hate sitting there watching other guys play the game,” Wilson admitted shortly after the game. “There’s nothing worse.”

The added context only adds to the intrigue of seeing Wilson and Carroll face off in Week 1 as the Denver Broncos head to Seattle. Tyler Lockett may be ready to give Wilson a warm welcome, but Seattle fans sympathetic to Carroll may be a little less amiable.