Steve Carell Leaving "The Office"?

Say it ain't so, Michael Scott!

During an interview promoting his hit comedy Date Night, Steve Carell told BBC Radio that he may be leaving The Office once his contract ends next year. 

Here is the transcript of that portion of the interview, courtesy of OfficeTally.com:

BBC Radio:  How long will you stay with the The Office for?  How many more series?  How long does your contract run?

Carell:  Contract through next season.

BBC Radio:  And will you stay after that?

Carell:  I don't think so.  I think that will probably be my last year.

Carell's contract ends after what will be The Office's seventh season.  But this is the first time he's ever mentioned actually leaving the show.

NBC has not yet commented on the interview, and it's possible this could all just be the start of a long contract negotiation to keep him with the series.  Then again, his movie track record has been good enough to justify his moving on from Dunder Mifflin for good, especially after seven seasons. 

Then the question becomes...can The Office survive without Steve Carell?