Seahawks HC Pete Carroll on trading Russell Wilson: 'Things change'

Back at the NFL Scouting Combine in early March, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll insisted that the club had "no intention" of trading star quarterback Russell Wilson to any would-be buyer. Two full weeks later, Wilson was introduced as the new QB1 of the Denver Broncos following the completion of a blockbuster transaction, and Seahawks chair Jody Allen said in a released statement that "Russell made it clear he wanted this change." 

Carroll somewhat touched upon what happened behind the scenes when speaking at the league's annual meetings on Tuesday. 

"Things change," Carroll explained, according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "There was a long period in there working it. I didn’t have the intention of going crazy, but we looked at the opportunity. Once we got a good look at it, there was reason. We got a really good deal, so we went ahead and made it. It took a long time to get to that, though. We had a long process where I didn’t think we would do it. It was such a complicated trade to make." 

Seattle received signal-caller Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and multiple draft assets in exchange for the one-time Super Bowl champion. While Lock is currently penciled in as the new Seahawks starter, the franchise has also routinely been linked with big names such as Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns and veteran free agent Colin Kaepernick, although it appears Kaepernick isn't among the top options for Seattle at this time.