Russell Wilson responds to Pete Carroll's wristband jab: 'We won a lot of games without one'
Russell Wilson's split with the Seattle Seahawks continues to get ugly.
Head coach Pete Carrol took a subtle jab at Wilson, who was traded to the Denver Broncos this offseason after 10 years and one Super Bowl title together in Seattle.
While talking about the Seahawks' success under Geno Smith, Carroll applauded Smith's willingness to wear a wristband with the play-call sheet, unlike his predecessor.
"If you notice, Geno's going off the wristband, and that's a big help," Carroll said on Seattle Sports 710 Monday after Seattle's 31-21 win against the Arizona Cardinals. "It's smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up. And that's part of it, too. We never did that before. There was resistance to that, so we didn't do that before."
Although Carroll didn't address Wilson directly, Wilson responded on Wednesday.
"We won a lot of games without one on the wrist," Wilson said during a news conference on Wednesday. "I didn't know winning or losing matter whether you wore a wristband or not. But I think, do whatever it takes to make sure that we're rolling and moving and everything else. A few times I (have) definitely worn a wristband depending on the game plan and what we have called and all that stuff."
Wilson led the Seahawks to two consecutive Super Bowls during his 10-year tenure, winning Super Bowl 48 over the Broncos in 2013. (The Seahawks could have another title if it weren't for Malcolm Butler's goal line interception of Wilson in the New England's 28-24 win in Super Bowl 49.)
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But winning has been hard to come by for Wilson in his first season with Denver and first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The Broncos are 3-5 and Wilson has put up career-low numbers, with six touchdowns, four interceptions and 58.8% pass completion at the halfway point of the season.
Meanwhile, the surprising Seahawks are 6-3 and lead the NFC West with Smith under center. Smith has racked up 15 touchdowns, four interceptions and a league-high 73.1% pass completion rate through Week 9.
Wilson returned to Seattle's Lumen Field for the first time to take on his old team in Week 1. The Seahawks squeaked out a 17-16 win over the Broncos and Wilson was booed by the home crowd.
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This is not the first time Wilson has been mentioned in Seattle.
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett told reporters last month, "It’s amazing what we can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit," a tweet with his quote went viral – with many assuming that wasn't the case when Wilson was the quarterback.
"People need to stop reaching," Lockett later responded on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russell Wilson responds to former coach Pete Carroll's wristband jab
