At this time last year, there wasn't a quarterback in the NFL who was providing more offseason drama than Russell Wilson.
During an interview in February 2021, Wilson made it clear that he wasn't happy with the state of the Seahawks -- most notably the offensive line -- and things got so bad that the quarterback's agent actually released a list of four teams Wilson would be willing to accept a trade to.
One year later, there's not as much drama, but there is still plenty of speculation about whether Wilson wants to stay in Seattle. The quarterback actually touched on that subject during an interview on the "Today" show this week. At one point in the interview, Wilson was asked what his thoughts were on possibly playing for the Washington Commanders.
"I love the East Coast, but I think the West Coast is better for me right now," Wilson said. "I've got my whole family over here. I'm from Richmond [Virginia], I know what you mean. I've got people hitting me up every day, all my friends and all that from the East Coast."
One notable part of that comment is that Wilson would prefer to stay on the West Coast. The quarterback has a no-trade clause, so if he doesn't want to leave the west coast, then he's not going to be leaving the West Coast.
As for possibly leaving Seattle? Wilson had a starkly different tone than he had last offseason.
"Seattle's the place that I'm at right now and I love it and it's great," Wilson said.
After an offseason of drama in 2021, Wilson has been saying all the right things in 2022. His comments about loving Seattle come almost exactly two months after he said his career plan is to win more Super Bowls and he wants to do it as a member of the Seahawks.
"My goal is to win more Super Bowls and my plan is to win one here," Wilson said in January. "It's that simple."
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was actually asked about the possibility of trading Wilson during an interview at the combine this week and although he didn't completely rule it out, he made it clear that the Seahawks wouldn't be be making any calls to try and unload their quarterback.
"We have no intention of making any moves there," Carroll said.
If another team calls about acquiring Wilson, the Seahawks will answer the phone, but that doesn't mean they plan on making a deal.
"At this time of year, there's conversations about everybody," Carroll told the media. "We talk about everybody, and that's commonplace for us to have conversations with teams about all the players, particularly marquee players. And that's not changed. It's been the same every year we've been here."
Even if Wilson wanted to be traded, it wouldn't be easy for the Seahawks to pull off a deal. If the trade happened before June 1, Seattle would take a $26 million cap hit, according to Over the Cap. If Wilson does want out of Seattle -- and that's a big if -- it's possible that he's realized his best way out will come in 2023. Not only will that be the final season of his contract, but trading him prior to the 2023 season would free up $27 million in cap space for the Seahawks, which might make them much more inclined to get a deal done.
