National Football League

Seahawks LB Aaron Curry at peace with demotion

Published Sep. 29, 2011 7:06 a.m. ET

foxsports

Last week was about anger and frustration for Aaron Curry.

Now, Seattle's demoted outside linebacker says he's at peace with the Seahawks' decision to send him to the bench in favor of rookie K.J. Wright.

Curry was bluntly forthcoming on Wednesday, shortly after coach Pete Carroll made it clear that, barring any late changes, Wright would get a second straight start at strongside linebacker on Sunday against Atlanta.

Curry clearly stated that his role is now that of second-string linebacker. He acknowledged being angry and upset a week ago when Seattle first made the change and he expressed those feelings publicly.

And he didn't distance himself from remarks he made on Twitter in recent days that have left many wondering what, if any, role Curry has in Seattle's future.

''I'm at peace. I have a complete peace of mind right now. I feel blessed. I'm taking this trial that I have and just capitalizing on it,'' Curry said. ''Frustration was last week. I was caught a little off guard so naturally my response was to be a little frustrated. But I'm so at peace right now, I don't know how to explain it to you.''

The former fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft has yet to live up to his lofty draft position. The Butkus Award winner his senior year at Wake Forest, Curry's been used in a number of different ways in Seattle's defensive schemes.

Yet, whether he was playing on the line of scrimmage, as a rush defensive end, even a third-down specialist, or this season playing back from the line, he's struggled to find a place where he can be successful.

''He's frustrated. He's frustrated and rightfully so. I don't blame him one bit for being frustrated,'' Carroll said. ''When we visited on it, he's ready to battle. We want to see him battle for what he rightfully wants to own.''

Curry's future in Seattle was already in question before the move to bench him in favor of Wright. Curry agreed to restructure his contract before the season, giving up a large chunk of guaranteed money that was expected to come his way in 2012 and freeing the Seahawks to possibly part ways with Curry after this season.

Curry said ''it was an interesting proposal,'' and he agreed to restructure the deal.

''If I was a money hungry guy I would have handled the situation differently,'' Curry said. ''But I'm not. I'm about playing football and about winning.''

One of the more active players on Twitter, Curry said he was getting messages from fans of other teams in recent days telling him he was ''on the trading block.'' Curry made some statements that seemed to indicate a sense of excitement about possibly getting a new start somewhere else.

Asked if a fresh start was what he needed, Curry said, ''Who knows?''

Asked later if he thought he would be with the Seahawks next year, Curry left that decision to others.

''That's in the hands of the people upstairs. Whoever is making the roster adjustments, that's up to them,'' he said.

''I want to be where I have the best shot to get better at my future and contribute to a team's success,'' he added later.

Curry was in for just a handful of plays last week against Arizona. He was mostly used on special teams and was largely a spectator. Wright did not record a tackle, but Carroll felt the rookie played well enough to deserve another start.

Carroll said Wednesday that Curry's demotion was as much about Wright's impressive early performance as it was Curry's continued struggles. Wright started the season opener at middle linebacker against San Francisco with David Hawthorne injured.

But strongside linebacker is his natural position and the coaching staff was impressed with how quickly he could make the shift from inside to outside.

''That's a real strong message about a kid's savvy and instincts and feel for the game,'' Carroll said. ''He's a competitive kid and given the chance he's done very well with what we've given him to do.''

---

Follow Tim Booth on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ByTimBooth