If I were an enterprising NFL head coach or general manager, especially one who worked in one of the more glamorous locales in this league, I would start peppering the Seahawks with trade suggestions about their quarterback.
In what was already shaping up to be one of the wildest quarterback offseasons in NFL history may get even more bonkers than most would have considered. Could you imagine Russell Wilson in anything but a Seattle uniform? It might not be as crazy a proposition as you think. And while it would take a herculean offer to pry Wilson away, and the Seahawks ultimately might just be willing to budge, I'd want to go ahead and hear no with my own ears.
Would four first-round picks get it done? Five? Think big, either way.
Because with so many teams already pursuing or mulling quarterback trades -- Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff already changed places; Carson Wentz will be next to go, and Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, Sam Darnold, Jimmy Garoppolo could all be on the move at some point, too -- now is the time to be utterly proactive. And, from what I am hearing, some enterprising executives are already sniffing around on Wilson and trying to move the meter.
One of them might just get it done. I wouldn't want to be left out of the process. A quarterback of this caliber and a man of this character (Wilson just won the Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award) checks every box possible. He carries a franchise to the playoffs and is good for 10-plus wins a year. He has won with stunning regularity in Seattle, almost exclusively without much of an offensive line and with less than highly creative schemes.
We are talking about a first-ballot Hall of Famer with seven Pro Bowls, who is driven by being an all-time great. This is someone who looks at Tom Brady back in another Super Bowl and wonders, "Why not me?" He wants to play until he is 45 and break Lombardi Trophy records, too. That is simply how he is wired, and if the current climate seems anything less than that, well, that stings.
Here's what I know about Wilson: He burns to win. Every year. He has been beat up too much behind suspect blocking. He has a decade at least of play ahead and wants to maximize his opportunity to win consistently. And, given his family situation and the fact that his wife is a global figure in her own right, well, I don't see Russ and Ciara living on a farm outside Green Bay, Wis., if you catch my drift. But if the city had the right stuff and the staff and roster look the part, and the team looks like a winner, or is close enough, then I'd get on the phone with Seahawks general manager John Schneider and see what I could work out.
I can't help but consider the possibilities of what Wilson could do with someone like Sean Payton, for instance. I could see the Saints being a prime destination for Wilson if this heated up, and I hear they most certainly would like to further explore his potential availability after some exploratory calls. That talent and that play caller in that dome, in that division, would be wild.
The Raiders should be all over this as well, and I hear there is certainly some interest on their part. Las Vegas is metropolitan enough, it is close to Wilson's home in California, the stadium is exquisite and climate controlled, they have some top offensive talent in place, Jon Gruden has a Super Bowl ring as a head coach and a 10-year contract. I'd posit the Raiders would be a significant fit for Wilson more than you might imagine at first blush.
Miami came just short of the playoffs but has emerging talent and South Beach doesn't hurt, either. Russ and Ciara on South Beach feels right. Would the Seahawks be into Tua? I don't love this dual offensive coordinator concept they are trying in Miami, but I also don't think it would be a tough sell to get Wilson to sign off on a trade there, and I hear the Dolphins' interest has already been piqued.
The Jets aren't exactly on the cusp of winning big, but New York is still Gotham, they have the kind of draft haul to get it done. Darnold might be attractive to Pete Carroll, with their USC ties and all. Wilson in The Big Apple could be epic. The Jets know they probably have enough to get it done.
The Bears haven't been able to find a QB since Sid Luckman's prime. This would be the biggest sure thing ever. Chicago's defense, with a few upgrades to the offensive line in free agency, with Wilson at QB, could be a real problem for the rest of the NFC North. Think about how nuts that city would be if Wilson brought a Lombardi back to Chicago?
Ciara is from Texas. The Cowboys are, they tell me, America's Team. The offensive line is a little long in the tooth. The defense needs help ... But you could win some serious shootouts with Wilson. Pay Dak Prescott over $40M a year with a second franchise tag looming, or make a run at Wilson? If I were Jerry Jones, I would at least make a few calls before I married Prescott as a quarterback for good.
Washington and Pittsburgh would make some sense, too. Not sure they are glamorous enough, in the end. But they have huge defensive pieces already in place and coaches whom I believe Wilson would enjoy playing for. They made the playoffs with far lesser quarterbacks. It's worth a call.
Heck, it's worth a call for almost every team in the NFL. The player is too transcendent. Perhaps nothing will come from it. It would be difficult to pull off. But the Seahawks will only hear more of this chatter if they do not put a better line in front of Wilson; if they continue to default to running the ball and skew old-school in their offensive approach.
An already bonkers 2021 offseason is underway, even before a champion has been crowned. Teams are talking more about quarterback trades than, possibly, ever before. It makes sense that Wilson is among them.
