Pete Carroll believes the Seattle Seahawks' offer in free agency to Golden Tate during the 2014 offseason wasn't communicated correctly.

Tate signed with the Detroit Lions on a five-year, $31 million deal.

"We did try to bring him back," Carroll said in a conference call with Detroit reporters. "We made an offer that didn't get communicated really well at the time, and I think he's a terrific player. I loved him on our team, but you can't keep everybody, and so during the process of the negotiations, he went elsewhere.

"But our players and our coaches, we think the world of him, and he's fun to watch. We watch him every week, and we'll have a good time competing against him."

Asked to expand on his comments, Carroll referred questions to Tate's agent, Todd France. An email from ESPN to France seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Later Tuesday, Carroll clarified that he thought the breakdown of communication came from the Seahawks and not France.

"I was disappointed that we didn't communicate with Golden really clearly our end of it. So now it becomes a negotiation where I didn't feel like he had all the information he needed. And we needed to do a better job of that," Carroll said.

On Tuesday, Tate said he thought the Seahawks wanted him to return.

"I thought they wanted me back. I thought I did everything I could to help them win a Super Bowl, was in the community, was a good guy," he said. "But you know, it worked out. I'm happy where I am and excited about the future of this organization and hopefully I'm here for a long, long time."