Report: Seahawks Release Chris Carson, Veteran Expected to Retire From NFL

Unable to receive clearance to return to the field after undergoing neck surgery, Carson will retire as one of the best seventh-round picks in Seahawks history.

After months of speculation about his future, Chris Carson's NFL career appears to have reached its conclusion.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Seahawks plan to release Carson with a failed physical designation and the veteran running back will announce his retirement from the NFL due to a neck injury. Under the terms of his release, he will receive several million in injury protection benefits.

Per Rapoport, Carson won't release an official statement on his retirement at this time in case his neck "dramatically improves."

An unheralded prospect coming out of Oklahoma State, Carson landed with Seattle as a seventh-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Quickly making his presence felt, he impressed coaches and teammates alike, including catching the attention of star receiver Doug Baldwin during his first offseason program with the team.

Battling against Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls for carries, Carson promptly moved into the starting lineup, giving the Seahawks' ground attack a major boost. While he missed most of the season with a fractured ankle, he rebounded magnificently in 2018 by becoming the first Seahawk back to eclipse 1,000 yards since Marshawn Lynch in 2014, earning himself Pro Bowl alternate distinction.

Even as he battled through injuries, Carson once again eclipsed 1,000 yards in 2019 and added a pair of receiving touchdowns out of the backfield. With the team leaning more heavily on the passing game in 2020, he failed to reach 700 rushing yards but remained an effective, efficient runner, averaging a career-best 4.8 yards per carry while tacking on 37 receptions with his soft hands out of the backfield.

Unfortunately, Carson's career will come to a close after a neck injury limited him to only four games and 232 rushing yards in 2021. He underwent cervical fusion surgery in December and the Seahawks held out hope he would be able to make it back on the field, but he wasn't granted clearance to play during minicamp in June and his most recent medical checkup had the same result.

A battering ram between the tackles who dragged and plowed over tacklers while also possessing underrated lateral quickness and an uncanny ability to hurdle over defenders, Carson brought an identity to Seattle's ground game that had been missing since the days of "Beast Mode." While Russell Wilson cooked, he helped set the table with his physical, violent running style and the rest of the offense followed his lead.

Off the field, Carson also made a remarkable impact, using his first contract extension signed in 2021 to buy his mother a home to replace her previous one that had been burned down by a fire. He was actively involved helping others in the community back home in Georgia as well as in Seattle where he played for the past five years.

Carson will hang up his cleats with 3,502 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, which rank eighth and sixth in the Seahawks record books, along with 107 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns. Putting everything on the line each week while playing through several injuries along the way, he will forever be viewed as one of the best late-round picks in franchise history.