After re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks, running back Chris Carson reflected on his decision to continue to play for the team that selected him in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Carson said he had competing offers from several teams that made him consider leaving in free agency, but that staying in Seattle just felt right for him and his family.
“It was the team that gave my first shot in the league, so I felt like it was the right decision,” Carson told reporters via Zoom on Thursday. “… It was definitely difficult, the whole process. Teams made offers, there were definitely some teams that made it tough to sign with the Seahawks, but it was just the right feel. I prayed about it, me and my family talked about it, and we knew Seattle was the right fit.”
Carson also said Russell Wilson played a vital part in him sticking around for at least a few more years.
“He was definitely in my ear,” Carson said of the Seahawks’ longtime signal-caller. “We talked about it before the season ended that we didn’t want this to be the last year we played with each other. He definitely was in my ear during the offseason.”
Entering his fifth year in the NFL, Carson professed that he is grateful that he made it as far as he did as an overlooked seventh-round pick, and that he has obtained some financial security.
“That’s a blessing,” he said. “It’s just part of my story. For me, it’s something I can always be proud of. I’m not supposed to be here. The odds are that a seventh rounder doesn’t get to free agency like that, so it was it was a blessing… I’m just glad that I can be able to make some money playing the game I love.”
Carson will undoubtedly be a key cog in Seattle’s offense once again as the team hopes to get over the hump in 2021.
