AUBURN — Chris Carson came back.

But don’t call it a comeback, because that’s not what this is. The former Seahawks running back was forced to retire in 2022 due to an unrelenting neck issue. After five seasons, 49 games, 3,502 rushing yards, 31 total touchdowns and untold attempted tacklers strewn in his wake, Carson’s playing career abruptly ended at age 27.

Four years later, Carson arrived at 12:47 p.m. Saturday at the Auburn Valley YMCA. The 31-year-old wore a smile, sweats and a black Redmond Mustangs football hat. He looked like the same 5-foot-11, 222-pound wrecking ball that corralled 2,810 combined yards and 18 touchdowns in 2018 and 2019. He looked like he could put on pads and play tomorrow. He looked like he could lower his shoulder and shake Lumen Field.

He won’t.

But this is not a sad story.

“I had to deal with it,” Carson said of his retirement Saturday. “It was one of those things where, I’ve been through so much worse that this was a no-brainer. At the end of the day, me taking fewer hits on my body is going to preserve my body for the long run. I was like: ‘Man, look, I’m not going to be able to play football, but that’s OK. I’ll keep my mind and keep my brain, for one. I’m going to stay healthy.’

“It was not too much of a transition for me. I knew football was just a steppingstone. It wasn’t going to be something I was playing for too long anyways, especially with my style of play and the injuries. Once I made that decision, I was at peace with it. I was just trying to find the next avenue.”

The next avenue reconnected him with this community. After retiring, Carson returned to his home in Georgia, where he and his girlfriend raise three daughters — 5-year-old Nalaya, 3-year-old Gianna and 1-year-old Amiya. On Saturday, a smiling Carson said: “I was just with my kids, man, my daughters, watching them grow. That was the best period, to be honest.”

Even in the best period, he missed his second home. So two months ago, Carson and his family moved back to the Seattle area. They’re currently looking at houses, while Carson embarks on a coaching career. He was recently hired as the Redmond Mustangs’ (clearly qualified) running backs coach.

“It’s been more than what I hoped,” Carson said of the role. “I like giving back. I like coaching, No. 1, and I like being around kids. It’s just fun to see kids develop, especially where I played ball in Seattle. I wanted to give back to those people who supported me.”

He wants to give back in more ways than one. On Saturday, Carson participated in a back-to-school giveaway as part of the local McKinney-Vento program, which offers assistance to homeless youth. Nonprofit organization Stages of Tomorrow, the Entertainment Resource Alliance and arts and culture initiative 4Culture collaborated with the YMCA to provide materials.

Forty-five minutes before the event began, families formed a line that already wrapped around the building. Some sat in camping chairs. Some sported Seahawks jerseys. A few kids threw a football beside the sprawling line.

Starting at 1:06 p.m., the line led into the YMCA gym, where volunteers — Carson included — stood at tables covered with available items. Backpacks. Notebooks. Folders. Markers. Toys. Freshly popped popcorn. Sneakers. Sweatshirts. Water bottles. Seahawks-colored jump ropes.

Carson searched the piles of clothes for specific sizes, then filled goody bags. He handed out fist bumps and posed with entire families for photos. An overjoyed fan from Kent, 13-year-old Kaloni Reed, asked him for a hug.

After a while, he sat at a separate table to sign autographs. Along with fellow Seahawks alums Eddie McMillan and Randall Morris and former Rams and Jets offensive lineman Andre Anderson, Carson signed posters. He signed jerseys. Twelve-year-old Kirat Dhillon, from Newcastle, even asked him to sign her phone case.

Carson did so willingly, because he was one of them. He said Saturday, “It’s how I grew up, not being able to afford some things.” And Dec. 27, 2013, a faulty circuit breaker box started a fire at his family’s house in Lilburn, Ga. Their home of 14 years buckled before their eyes. For months after the fire, Carson’s family bounced between hotels and temporary apartments. Years later, Carson bought them a new house, fulfilling a promise to his parents.

He gave back, which is what he wants to do for his new — and old — community.

“It means everything,” Carson said. “This is the only thing I want to do, as far as giving back to the community, visiting homeless shelters, things like that. I always want to give back to kids who are less fortunate.”

For Carson, “giving back” applies both to community service and coaching. But though he’s finally back on a football field, Carson said he doesn’t watch the NFL at all. He knows the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, “but I didn’t watch it or anything like that.” He hasn’t visited the Virginia Mason Athletic Center since he was released in July 2022.

Still, his bond with former teammates and the 12s has not been broken.

“It’s long lasting — forever lasting, really,” Carson said. “Me and Rashaad Penny (who was hired this year as the football coach at Jordan High School in Long Beach, Calif.) are still close. DeeJay Dallas, and the people who were in the room, we’re always going to be close, always going to be brothers.

“It’s just good to see them doing what they want to do, because we always talked about coaching after football. Even people like (former Seahawks wide receiver) Penny Hart, he coaches, too. It’s definitely motivated me to get into coaching.”

Carson never needed much motivation. His playing career was a continuous overcoming. At Parkview (Ga.) High, he overcame a hairline fracture in his forearm, playing linebacker until he was allowed to hold a football. He overcame a torn ACL in his senior season, which swallowed any FBS offers, and a torn ligament in his thumb at Oklahoma State. He overcame the family fire. After remarkably earning a starting job with the Seahawks as a seventh-round pick, he overcame the broken leg that ended his rookie season. He overcame a Denver Bronco (by way of hurdle), a Carolina Panther (by way of backflip) and a Minnesota Viking (by way of violence). Fans won’t forget.

He overcame everyone and everything, until it added up.

But this, here, is not an overcoming. And it’s not a comeback.

It’s a homecoming.

“I’ve always felt the support from the community,” he said. “To this day, I always say that’s the best fanbase that I’d ever been around — college, NFL, even going to other stadiums and playing other teams. The 12s are different. There’s nothing like being in this area. It’s good to be back.”

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