Following the trade of quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, another face of the franchise is leaving the Seattle Seahawks in the form of defensive star Bobby Wagner. Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider apologize for the way the middle linebacker’s release was communicated.

Munich/Seattle – Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks have apologised for the way they handled the dismissal of their star defensive end Bobby Wagner. They regret the way their longtime captain learned of the team’s plans.

Wagner expressed his displeasure with the situation last week, writing on his Twitter account, “The crazy part about all this: I played there for ten years and never once heard from them personally that I wasn’t coming back.”

Schneider and Carroll were asked about the franchise’s actions Wednesday when they spoke to members of the media for the first time since the Scouting Combine. “Yeah, that’s on me. That’s on me,” Schneider said.

Carroll interjected that he wanted to take the blame, but Schneider intervened, “No, it’s really my fault. I wish I had handled things better in terms of communication. I owe it to him. The organisation owes it to him. “

Seahawks: Wagner’s appearance as own agent problematic

According to Schneider, an aggravating factor was that the middle linebacker represents himself as an agent. Former Seahawks stars Richard Sherman and Russell Okung did the same thing in the past when they played in Seattle.

“It’s always a little tricky when a player represents himself,” Schneider said. “We’ve had some very prominent players here that have represented themselves and you never really know what’s going to happen at the end of the day.”

He added: “So when you approach someone and say, ‘There might be a possible trade. Would you consider that?’ And then the player comes back to you, it’s not a good situation. I wish I would have handled things differently in terms of timing.”

According to Carroll, the Seahawks were unsure all along whether they would part ways with Wagner. Carroll had even mentioned at the NFL Combine, according to “ESPN,” that he expected the 31-year-old to stay in Seattle, though he also hinted that Wagner’s future was uncertain.

Wilson trade rendered Seahawks plan with Wagner moot

“I’m guilty of that, too, because I didn’t want that to happen,” Carroll continued. “I wanted Bobby to be with us forever, so I kept encouraging John, ‘Let’s see what the options are so maybe there’s a way out of this and we don’t have to do this.’ So every day was crucial as we got closer and closer.”

But then events in Seattle rolled over: “When the news came out about Russell, it really seemed like everything was going down the drain. We were supposed to meet with Bobby a few days after that, but the timing just didn’t work out. I regret that we didn’t get the timing better.”

The 70-year-old added: “I don’t know how he found out. You were all talking about it left and right, and then your articles were all over the internet and everything about (the possibility of Wagner being sacked), all the hints were out. But it’s a tough business. It’s really tough. “

Seattle Seahawks: reboot after departures of Wilson and Wagner

Wagner is one of the most decorated players in Seahawks history. He holds the franchise record for tackles, was named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past eight seasons, was selected to the All-Pro First Team six times and was the last remaining star player of the legendary “Legion of Boom” defense that led Seattle to its only Super Bowl title.

“We have too much respect for him to allow something like that to happen,” Schneider explained, “We talked to him. We worked everything out together with him. We went through things. So it wasn’t that we didn’t talk to him. It was just the timing.”

Wagner’s dismissal freed up $16.6 million in cap space. That’s how much he was set to earn in the final year of the three-year, $54 million contract he signed in 2019.

Schneider declined to answer whether the Seahawks offered him the chance to return for less money, according to “ESPN.” But he seemed to signal there was no such offer when asked if there was another option for Wagner to stay in Seattle other than playing out his existing contract.

“I would say no,” the GM replied. Schneider then again noted the issue of dealing differently with players who represent themselves than with an intermediary agent.

“If you’re representing yourself – I’m only talking about if it was me – I would talk to as many teams and agents as I possibly could,” he said, “I don’t want to discourage players from representing themselves. I don’t go down that road at all. I’m just saying if you have an agent, there’s a certain buffer that’s there. Quite apart from the communication point of view, we have so much respect for him that we owe him that. “