'The Walking Dead' season 7 spoilers, news: Is Carl the next main character to die?

An image of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) in "The Walking Dead."AMC

Earlier this month, Chandler Riggs, the actor portraying Carl Grimes in "The Walking Dead," tweeted that he had been accepted into Auburn University and he will be going there next year. And right on cue, rumors of Carl's impending doom started spreading after the announcement was made.

The rumor didn't spread like wildfire right away, but when Riggs' dad, William, wrote, "Completed 7 years on TWD!" on his Instagram account, more began to wonder if it's true that Carl would be killed off this season.

Completed 7 years on TWD! #freedom #thewalkingdead

A photo posted by William Riggs (@dadszombieroadtrip) on

Did he just say "freedom"? Okay. Now that Riggs is going to university, does it mean he is leaving the show? Apparently not, according to his mom; Gina-Ann Riggs doused some of the flames when she told a fan on Instagram not to overanalyze her husband's comment.

"Don't over analyze. His seven year contract is up. That's all he was saying, nothing else. Pretty big accomplishment for a child actor (and for the parent who had to quit his job for this child to be able to follow his dream)," she explained.

Riggs' seven-year contract may be done, but reports say a number of actors involved with the show are in the process of renegotiating their contracts. Perhaps the young actor is one of the cast members currently undergoing contract talks with AMC. Movie Pilot pointed out that Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus have already renewed their contracts.

It should also be noted that Auburn University is just an hour and a half away from the show's filming location in Atlanta. That means Riggs can just travel back and forth between the university and the filming site. The scheduling can be difficult, though.

As of this moment, AMC has yet to reveal anything regarding Carl's fate in the show. Until they confirm that Riggs isn't returning, readers are advised to take everything with a grain of salt.