Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Brandon Browner could return to the team later, while also saying Joey Hunt simply beat out Patrick Lewis for the backup center position.

Wednesday marked the first time Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talked to the media following the release/waiving of veteran cornerback Brandon Browner and center Patrick Lewis earlier in the week.

Here’s what Carroll said about each.

First, Browner.

The Seahawks were attempting to convert the 32-year-old from cornerback to safety. And while the team also had plans for a specialty defense in which Browner would match up against some specific opponents, Carroll said the team needed to see that Browner could play a base safety role well enough to warrant a roster spot.

For now, Carroll said, that wasn’t happening.

Intriguingly, though, Carroll held out the idea that Browner could return later if the Seahawks have a need, though he also said the team released Browner in the cutdown to 75 in part so he has more time to try to catch on elsewhere.

“We just felt like we ran out of time getting him ready to play safety,” Carroll said. “The specialty stuff he can do and there was no question about that. But to fit on the roster and all that I thought it was going to be a race for him to make it. He could play for us, which he did in games. But I think there was still aways to go and I thought in respect to him, give him more time to find a place with somebody else. There are many scenarios where we would ask him to come back, so we left with that exchange. I love that guy and his competitiveness and toughness and all of that. But it was a big request. We weren’t making him play safety and faking it we needed him to play to be on the roster and help us and the other guys were just ahead of him.”

As defensive coordinator Kris Richard explained on Tuesday, one of those ahead of Browner was Kelcie McCray, one of the stars of the preseason.

As for Lewis, after starting nine games in 2015 he was waived on Tuesday after not only losing the starting center job to Justin Britt but — in the words of Carroll — the backup spot to Joey Hunt. That the team also saves $1.67 million also surely factored in. Still, all indications are that Hunt, a sixth-round pick out of TCU, is the backup center going forward.

“Joey has done a great job,” Carroll said Wednesday. “He’s been really sharp. His understanding of what we want — he comes fom a real wealth of experience and they did a great job with him in terms of identifying defenses and all and translating to our terminology. He helps guys around him because he’s so bright, plus he has played really well. So really, he created that through the competition.”

Lewis was claimed on waivers by Buffalo on Wednesday so he won’t be returning to Seattle.

A few other players who were waived by the Seahawks this week cleared waivers and could be available to return to the team’s practice squad, or in another fashion, including running back Zac Brooks, the team’s seventh-round pick in the 2016 draft.