Pete Carroll doesn't believe rumors Russell Wilson wants to leave Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks will finish their season with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals and head coach Pete Carroll isn't worried about rumors that it could be Russell Wilson's last game with the team.

"The kind of conversations we have behind the scenes are not in line with the rumors," Carroll said during a press conference Monday. "Not at all. We've been together and connected throughout this whole season and that's why it's easy to dismiss those [rumors] at this time."

Carroll's answer came a few hours after he said on a radio show Monday that the rumors about Wilson's impending departure were because of an "agenda somebody has out there to try to create and stir stuff up."

Among those rumors was a report in June that Wilson was "straight-up frustrated" that his name was floated in trade chatter. That report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler suggested that things "could get very ugly once again" if the Seahawks didn't contend for a Super Bowl in 2021.

Wilson, 33, hasn't publicly suggested that he wants out of Seattle, although he has left open the possibility that his time with the team could reach its conclusion soon. Last week, he told reporters that he hoped a Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions wouldn't be his last in Seattle. 

In February 2021, ESPN's Adam Schefter said Wilson hopes to stay with the Seahawks, but if a trade came to fruition, he'd accept a deal to play for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, or Chicago Bears.

Wilson missed playing time for the first time in his career when a finger injury kept him out for three games in 2021. While he struggled immediately after his return, Wilson settled in and has thrown 12 touchdowns and two interceptions in his last six starts.