Russel Wilson's much-reported early-offseason huff with the Seattle Seahawks revolved around the Super Bowl-winning quarterback wanting a louder voice within the offense.
Wilson underscored that desire back in February when he expressed a belief that he should be involved in some personnel decisions.
It appears that, at least on one level, Wilson believes his opinion is being heard.
During an interview with The Ringer's Kevin Clark, Wilson boasted about how "collaborative" new Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been this offseason.
"I think for our offense, I'm just excited for our guys to continue to grow and make plays," Wilson said. "It's been fun having Shane Waldron there. He's been an amazing mind, super collaborative. We've had a lot of fun and done a lot of great things and thrown a bunch of touchdowns over the last nine years, whatever it's been. It's been amazing along the journey, and it's time to throw some more and win some more games. That's what we're excited about. We think we've got a chance to win it all and we're going to go for it."
While the comment about the new OC seems buried in the QB's traditional outpouring of optimism, given the context of Wilson's angst with the organization earlier this offseason -- which by all accounts is water under the bridge at this point -- it's important to note.
We've heard only glowing assessments of Waldron's offense emanating from Seattle this offseason. From Wilson's praise to Tyler Lockett's noting that the receivers will have "more freedom."
When taken in totality, the comments suggest a more open offense could finally be making its way to Seattle, which should make Wilson happy -- at least until the Seahawks lose a close game and Pete Carroll insists "getting back go the rushing attack" will cure all ills.
Beyond praise for his new OC, Wilson boasted about the potential growth of his skill players and crowed about his offensive line -- a group for which he previously blamed some of the offensive struggles.
"I'm looking forward to the growth of our players," Wilson told Clark. "DK Metcalf having another year; he's still such a young guy. Chris Carson being back; we're so excited to have him back out there with us, the player that he is. Gerald Everett, coming from the Rams, is a tremendous football player. There's so many great guys and players. Duane Brown has been so dominant for us ever since he's gotten here at the left tackle position. We got a new guard in Gabe Jackson who is a physical, dominant player, and I'm excited for Damien Lewis to move to left guard-what a player he was last year. The energy of us -- I think a guy like Jamal Adams, just imagine his second year playing for the Seahawks. He was amazing last year, how he flies around the field. Bobby Wagner, there's nobody better at his position and no better leader than him. He's been amazing all these years. Then you have guys like [Quandre] Diggs who can make all the plays. We have everything we need and everything we want. We want to have fans back and get back after it."
After venting frustration earlier this offseason, Wilson sounds back to his normal, positive, "Go Hawks!" self. That's a great sign for Seattle and the Seahawks' chances of making another postseason run in 2021.
