Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin's comments about returning to Atlanta have caused quite a stir in the Pacific Northwest.
Pete Carroll is trying to quiet that controversy, claiming Irwin never made such a statement.
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Irvin reportedly suggested to BlackSportsOnline.com that he would be a Falcon in 2016.
"I'm going to be in Atlanta next season," Irwin was quoted as saying.
"We've been talking all along," Carroll said (via ESPN) prior to his induction into the USC Hall of Fame. "He has been working out in Atlanta for these three weeks, and he said (that) in response to the question 'Do you want to come back home?' He said everybody likes to come back home, and it's a dream to come back home. It wasn't in reference to leaving us and coming back (to the Falcons). He was really adamant about it, and I asked him to leave it and not go at it anymore."
Irvin has recorded 16.5 sacks in his three-year NFL career, yet the Seahawks declined to exercise his fifth-year option earlier this month, and he wasn't happy about it.
Carroll attributed all the noise surrounding the story as the reality of new media.
"Anybody can put those messages out, and they have a life to them," Carroll said. "Our guys are getting better at understanding that, and Bruce has learned again from this lesson."