Seahawks Starter Drops Hint on Possible Retirement Ahead of Playoffs

Pete Carroll

Getty The Seahawks are heading to the NFL playoffs.

The Seattle Seahawks may be seeing the last of starting linebacker Bruce Irvin with the veteran admitting this could be his last NFL season. The Seahawks released their weekly “All Access” video from the team’s Week 18 matchup against the Rams, and Irvin hinted at possible retirement coming this offseason.

“Last home game, this might be the last one for me, period,” Irvin said prior to the regular-season finale. “So, we got to go out with a bang, baby.”

Seattle’s reunion with Irvin has been a productive one since the Seahawks signed the linebacker to the team’s practice squad in October. Irvin went on to record 28 tackles, nine quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his 11 appearances, including 10 starts in 2022. The Seahawks later signed Irvin to the team’s active roster on a one-year, $1.1 million deal.

Seattle selected Irvin with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, a move met with widespread criticism. Irvin went to play 11 NFL seasons and is on his third stint with Seattle.


Seahawks Will Likely Look to Add a Linebacker This Offseason

Regardless of Irvin’s decision, the Seahawks would be wise to address the linebacker position this offseason. Jordyn Brooks sustained an ACL injury in Week 17, and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll foreshadowed a long recovery that is likely ahead for the defender.

“He has an ACL injury and it’s legit,” Carroll told Seattle Sports’ “Brock and Salk” during a January 2 interview. “He had an unfortunate kind of landing on the sidelines over there.

“Just kind of as he was spinning, he just got his knee torqued. Didn’t get hit on it, (but) as he was kind of rotating around the tackle he landed awkwardly and unfortunately got hurt. That’s a shame. What a great, great player and a great teammate.”


Carroll on Irvin: ‘He’s Giving Us Everything He’s Got’

Beyond Irvin’s play on the field, the veteran has made a positive impact on helping guide a young defense. Irvin serves as a bridge from the old Legion of Boom era to the the first season for a post-Russell Wilson Seahawks roster. The linebacker is the lone remaining player from Seattle’s Super Bowl winning team during the 2013 season.

“I think it’s really kind of what you might hope it could be from an experienced guy coming back who’s been around the block and all,” Carroll said of Irvin during a January 10 press conference. “He has the willingness to help others and to talk about it and share his story and all that. And he realizes that he’s the older guy now, and so I’ve heard him say that he remembers when he was the younger guy and he was looking up and guys were kind of helping him along.

“And this is a different stage of his career. [It’s] more obvious to him now coming back here I think than the last couple stops, and so he’s competing in that way. He’s giving us everything he’s got. He’s made himself available to guys whether he knows these guys very well or not, he’s trying to help them. It’s really a big positive for us.”

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