The Seattle Seahawks asserted it was Russell Wilson who requested his eventual trade to the Denver Broncos rather than it be something the team preferred.

"While Russell made it clear he wanted this change, he made Seattle proud and we are grateful for his decade of leadership on and off the field," said Jody Allen, chair of the Seahawks. "We look forward to welcoming our new players and to everyone being fully engaged while working our hardest to win every single day. I trust our leadership to take us into the future, and know we all wish Russell the very best."

"This has always been a challenging time of year where we have consistently maintained a competitive approach to getting better as a team," said Pete Carroll. "As Jody stated, Russ' desire in doing something different afforded the organization an opportunity to compete in multiple ways. He has always been the ultimate competitor whose leadership and consistency helped shape our culture. Our franchise has won a lot of games and we will always be grateful for the exciting moments and incredible records."

Said general manager John Schneider, "Russell has been a tremendous player, leader, and member of our organization since the day we drafted him in the third round in 2012. His tireless work ethic has helped make him one of the most successful QBs in NFL history and we thank him for his many contributions on the field and in the community.

"When it became evident that Russell was interested in playing elsewhere, we used that opportunity to explore the market, allowing us to acquire three quality players, tremendous draft capital, and create salary cap flexibility. We have a clear vision about the direction of this team, and this is an exciting time for our organization."