Carroll said it was too soon to have any details when asked specifics on the injury: “I don’t have anything for you at all… I really don’t know enough about it. I know it was pretty darn sore.”
Asked specifically if Wilson might need surgery, Carroll said, “I don’t know that. I don’t have any idea about that right now.”
Carroll said ultimately Wilson and trainers realized he couldn’t finish the game because he couldn’t properly grip the ball heading into a fourth quarter in which the Seahawks, who were trailing, were going to need to throw the ball a lot.
“He wasn’t able to hold onto the football the way he needed to throw it, because we needed to throw it all over the place, and we didn’t know what he would be able to do, he was just unsure,” Carroll said. “I trust him. If he could have, he would have.”
“Russ knows his body. He knows what he can do… He knew that this wouldn’t help us tonight.”
If there was any silver lining in Wilson’s injury, it was that it gave Geno Smith his first chance to play meaningful regular-season snaps in three seasons as Wilson’s backup, and Smith played well, leading the Seahawks on two scoring drives, including a 98-yard drive immediately after taking the field on which he was 7-for-7 for 72 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. If Wilson does miss any time going forward, the Seahawks will be confident in Smith’s ability to help lead the offense.
“He did great, he really looked good,” Carroll said. “He’s been working for that. He’s a talented football player, he knows our system. If Geno’s going to play for us some as Russ comes back, he showed that we’re in good hands.”
As for Wilson, Carroll is putting nothing by his quarterback, who has been one of the NFL’s most durable players over the past decade.
“He’s been just remarkably durable, but the marvelous part about it is his attitude about how he approaches it,” Carroll said. “He is going to heal; he is going to heal himself. He is the epitome of the mentality of taking control of how your body functions. He makes stuff happen and does marvelous things.”
