A Las Vegas Raiders team that seemingly lacks a legitimate 2025 Week 1 starting quarterback will soon announce that it has hired former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll as its next head coach.
Carroll could call current Pittsburgh Steelers QB1 Russell Wilson about a potential reunion in Vegas.
“With Pete Carroll taking over the Raiders, one name I’ve heard to watch at QB: Russell Wilson,” The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported on Friday. “They’ve mended fences, per source, and Wilson could be a stopgap while the Raiders develop a long-term answer.”
Carroll’s Seahawks selected Wilson as a third-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Together, the two guided the franchise to a pair of Super Bowl appearances and one title until Wilson allegedly “made it clear he wanted” a change after the 2021 season. It was reported that Wilson tried to get Carroll and Seattle general manager John Schneider fired before the Seahawks officially traded the signal-caller to the Denver Broncos in March 2022.
Wilson and Carroll may need each other again, if only for the 2025 campaign.
Wilson publicly said earlier this week that his “goal is to be with the Pittsburgh Steelers a long time and hopefully finish my career there.” However, rumblings have suggested he didn’t have the best working relationship with Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith this past season. Additionally, some Steelers insiders believe the team could re-sign backup Justin Fields and let Wilson reach free agency when the new league year opens in March.
As for the Raiders, they need an advertised upgrade to the position over the likes of Aidan O’Connell, Desmond Ridder and Gardner Minshew. Even if Vegas makes a blockbuster trade to move up from the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft order to grab either Miami quarterback Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the Raiders will first look for a so-called “bridge option” in free agency.
Assuming Howe’s information is correct, Seattle fans who believed several years ago that Wilson would take the final meaningful snaps of his career playing under Carroll could be proven right.
