Virtually every year, rumors swirl about at least one actor leaving “The Walking Dead," and now it's Chandler Riggs' turn in the hot seat.

The 17-year-old actor, who plays Carl Grimes, ignited speculation about his departure from the AMC hit when he announced early this month that he'd been accepted to Auburn University. The flames were then fueled by a quickly deleted social media comment by his father William Riggs -- "Completed 7 years on TWD! #freedom #thewalkingdead" -- which some fans interpreted as indication the actor's impending exit.

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However, his mother Gina-Ann Riggs recently responded to rumors on Instagram, telling concerned fans there's nothing to worry about.

"Don't over analyze," she wrote. "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)."

For many, that should quell fears that Chandler Riggs' days on "The Walking Dead" are numbered. Although to be fair, he didn’t do much to assuage concerns. When he announced his acceptance to Auburn, the text sounded to many fans like a goodbye. Thankfully, Auburn isn’t too far from Atlanta, where the zombie drama is filmed, so he shouldn’t miss too much time on the set.

For now though, fans can rest easy, and go back to worrying about what other characters Negan will kill off this season.

"The Walking Dead" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC.

(via Business Insider)