Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll hints Russell Wilson could punt for Seahawks, defends fake punt call

Published Dec. 17, 2016 12:28 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

It was one of the most fascinating plays of this or any other NFL season.

With a three-touchdown lead and the game well in hand, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called a fake punt against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night -- a decision that ultimately led to Seahawks punter Jon Ryan amusingly bobbling the ball before not-so-amusingly getting laid out with a big hit that sent him to the hospital with a concussion.

https://twitter.com/sarahcolonna/status/809657230924476416

During his Friday media availability, Carroll defended the decision -- "You have to do what you have to do," the coach told reporters -- and hinted that if Ryan is unavailable for next week, quarterback Russell Wilson could fill in as Seattle's punter.

Via the Seattle Times:

“We’ll see,’’ Carroll said. “Of course we’ll just wait it out with Jon but if he can’t play we’ll have to do something and we’ll figure it out. There’s a lot of guys who dropped notes in my suggestion box that they can punt. Guys like (Jermaine) Kearse and Russ (Russell Wilson), they all think they can punt if we need it. We’ll have some guys. We’ll have a punt pass and kick contest this week if we need to.”