DENVER — The soured relationship between quarterback Russell Wilson and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, one of the driving factors in the QB’s blockbuster trade to Denver this offseason, came into public view again Wednesday.
In an appearance on Seattle Sports 710 AM, Carroll said Geno Smith’s use of a wristband has been one of the factors behind Smith and the Seahawks’ surprisingly good season so far. Smith is fifth in the NFL in yardage at 2,199 and leads the league with a 73.1 completion percentage.
“If you notice, Geno’s going off the wristband, and that’s a big help,” Carroll said. “It’s smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up. And that’s part of it, too. We never did that before. There was resistance to that, so we didn’t do that before.”
Wilson responded to that thinly veiled critique Wednesday before practice. The quarterback doesn’t traditionally wear a wristband, but had one on in the Broncos’ win over the Jaguars in Week 8 in London.
“I don’t know exactly what (Carroll) said, but I won a lot of games (in Seattle) without one on,” Wilson said. “And I didn’t know winning or losing (depended on) whether you wore a wristband or not.”
The quarterback added that he does “whatever it takes to make sure we’re rolling (on offense),” and if he’s not wearing a wristband, it’s because he doesn’t think it’s necessary.
“A few times I’ve definitely worn wristbands depending on the game plan we have installed,” Wilson said.
The Seahawks (6-3 and first in the NFC East) beat the Broncos (3-5 and third in the AFC West) 17-16 on Monday Night Football in Week 1 after Brandon McManus missed a 64-yard field goal attempt in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
