Russell Wilson won the Walter Payton ‘man of the year’ award
I thought the appointment of Shane Waldron would quell the chatter for twelve months at least.
Yet here we are.
Super Bowl Sunday was the typical weekend arms race among the news breakers in the NFL to deliver a story.
And Russell Wilson was once again being discussed as a potential trade candidate.
It’s quite possible this was just a circumstantial thing. The league is currently awash with veteran QB trade rumours. Matt Stafford has been dealt, Carson Wentz will be dealt and Deshaun Watson wants to be dealt.
A whole host of teams appear to be scrambling around seeking a veteran solution.
Meanwhile teams with existing starters, such as Las Vegas, are reportedly seeking an upgrade.
I wrote an article in December chronicling the consistent Wilson trade rumours that have been present for three years. So it’s hardly a big stretch for a reporter to call either the Seahawks or Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers to see, in this environment, whether anyone has approached Seattle wanting to do a deal.
Reporting that they have — and that enquiries have been rebuffed — isn’t a big deal in itself. A week ago Sam Farmer at the LA Times reported the Rams called Green Bay about Aaron Rodgers. These things happen.
Even so, part of me did wonder yesterday why this topic never goes away.
After all — Waldron was supposedly Wilson’s guy for offensive coordinator. That, in fairness, was more of a hunch from Brock Huard than a firm revelation.
It makes sense though for Wilson to covet someone from the Rams offensive system. His desire to score points, attack opponents and play with tempo chimed with Waldron’s words in his first press conference.
I also think, in fairness to Pete Carroll, it appears the team went above and beyond to find a fit that satisfied all parties. There’s always a chance Carroll steps in half way through the season like he did in 2020. Yet the hope has to be that he recognises his opinion on how the offense should run shouldn’t be the only viewpoint heard. To me, this hire suggests he acknowledges that.
At the same time, I don’t think one appointment fixes everything.
After all, Wilson turns 33 in November. In a few years time, there’s a reasonable chance he’ll be past his peak. And while he insists he wants to play to the age of 45 — Philip Rivers has just retired at 39. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that in seven years time, Wilson might be staring at the reality check father time too frequently delivers.
I think there’s a sense of urgency around Wilson these days. We saw that in his request for ‘superstars’ a year ago and the way he spoke about the offense in recent press conferences and interviews.
He’s extremely focused on legacy. He wants to win but he also wants to reach individual goals — likely including winning a MVP and being statistically one of the top QB’s ever to play the game.
To Wilson, the offensive ideology is important. Especially when he sees people he considers peers — Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers — playing in a style he probably craves. He also saw Tampa Bay surround Tom Brady with an assortment of weapons, including some old friends, to create a loaded arsenal. The Buccs deferred to their quarterback and essentially signed the guys he wanted.
While the appointment of Waldron is encouraging for quarterback and fans alike — you could possibly forgive Wilson for some scepticism that he and the new coordinator will be given the freedom to do what they want.
The NFL Network report was quite firm, stating “there’s no chance the Seahawks are dealing their star QB.” I suspect that is almost certainly true this year. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s the case, why the rumours persist?
After all, what’s in it for the source of the info? Why would the Seahawks reveal to the media that they’ve taken calls only to suggest there’s no chance of a trade happening? This just makes it a story again. Why would Wilson’s people (agent) reveal trade interest unless it was to spark some media attention to create a bidding war or apply pressure? And why would other teams anonymously reveal they’d called about Wilson if there was no chance of anything happening?
When it comes to this particular type of story, no news is often good news. The fact it’s resurfaced, potentially, isn’t positive.
And then I read this article by Jason La Canfora. I appreciate that whenever you mention La Canfora’s name, people tend to scoff. Nobody would ever accuse La Canfora of being CBS’ answer to Adam Schefter — but neither is he the bumbling buffoon many like to claim.
He has also, to be fair, broken stories relating to the Seahawks in the past.
His piece essentially calls on half of the league to call Seattle and make an offer:
“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.”
La Canfora goes on to suggest the Seahawks ‘might be willing to budge’ on a trade and that a deal ‘might not be as crazy a proposition as you think’. Apparently, ‘some enterprising executives are already sniffing around Wilson and trying to move the meter.’
A lot of the article goes over ground we’ve often covered on here:
“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.”
Essentially, the clock is ticking even if he has ambitions to play on for another decade.
La Canfora suggests the Saints are exploring his availability, having made some initial ‘exploratory calls’. If you’re willing to take your Seahawks-tinted specs off for a moment — can you think of a better way for Wilson to continue his career? Playing for Sean Payton, the man who enjoyed so much success with Drew Brees — one of Wilson’s role models?
The problem the Saints have is it’s hard to imagine how they could possibly make an attractive offer. They own a late first round pick. Unless you consider Taysom Hill a hot commodity (I don’t) they wouldn’t be able to provide the Seahawks with a quarterback alternative to start in 2020. Once they had acquired Wilson, any future first round picks would be at the back-end of the first frame.
So while it might be an attractive thought for Payton and Wilson, it seems unrealistic. I’m sure four first rounders, Cam Jordan and Michael Thomas might be enough for the Seahawks to take on scrambling around for a quarterback solution but how realistic is a deal like that?
La Canfora goes on to say the Raiders have interest. I’m not sure working for a taskmaster like Jon Gruden would be particularly appealing but the Raiders do have two quarterback assets in Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota. However, like the Saints, the Raiders can only offer picks in the latter half of round one.
Miami has always felt like a viable destination due to the location and their draft stock, including the #3 pick. They also possess a young quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa — although personally I think it’d be a hard sell to take him on.
Again, La Canfora reports they have had their interest ‘piqued’.
What follows is a run down of every team needing a quarterback and why they should call the Seahawks. And in the end it was hard to tell whether this was a mere riding of the coattails of the NFL Network report or a warning that actually, this issue isn’t as dead in the water for 2020 as first thought.
Certainly the suggestion that teams have interest and are preparing to test Seattle’s resolve — minus any suggestion that the Seahawks wouldn’t listen — was worth contemplating, even if just for a moment.
The talk also inspired Mike Florio to chime in. Florio, as we’ve often mentioned, clearly uses Wilson’s agent as a source. Mark Rodgers has appeared on PFT Live and Florio often reports from the perspective of Wilson’s camp.
He rightly points out the contract ramifications in place for 2020 that make a Wilson trade unlikely. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Eagles or Rams attempting to make similar moves in much worse cap situations than Seattle.
He also repeats the line:
Some in league circles believe Wilson eventually will play for another team
A decent amount of smoke has been billowing around Wilson and the Seahawks since 2018. Eventually, we might discover the fire.
It’s tempting to dismiss everything as a non-story given the contrasting angles each reporter has taken. For the NFL Network, there were rebuffed talks. For La Canfora, a deal could happen. For Florio, it probably will happen just not this year.
I think Wilson’s position in all of this is pretty easy to work out. If he feels like he’s being given every opportunity to achieve everything he wants to in Seattle — individually and as a team — then there’s no issue. He wants a big say in how the offense functions. If he doesn’t believe that’s the case, he’ll likely be open to plying his trade elsewhere.
The interesting question is more how the Seahawks view this situation.
Pete Carroll is a few years away from retirement. Taking on a questionable situation at quarterback could spoil any chance of a happy ending.
Yet he may also look back to 2013 when the Seahawks won a Super Bowl while paying their quarterback $500,000. That quarterback had no expectations on how the offense should be run and no real thirst to be the MVP. Without having a $35m salary taking up a chunk of the salary cap, they were able to create a deep, talented roster.
It’s also clear that what Carroll truly craves is to finish his career doing things the way he wants to. That was the driving force behind the 2018 reset. It’s why they traded Michael Bennett just over 12 months after extending his contract — taking on a huge dead cap hit and essentially paying him to play for the Eagles instead.
There may come a time when what Carroll wants and what Wilson wants repels, creating a situation where a trade simply has to happen. Frankly, I’m not sure Carroll — approaching 70 — would want his closing moments in Seattle to feature an ugly divorce with a legendary player. He may well fall on his sword if it ever came to that. Or maybe not. Who knows? But I do think he’s also determined to end his career the way he wants to. In many ways he has earned that right.
For now though — it does feel like this is a relationship where both parties are maybe wondering if this marriage is working. With the help of councillor Shane Waldron, they might be able to form a stronger bond than ever. Or we might see an acrimonious divorce.
Either way, I don’t think we should shirk this topic because it’s inconvenient.
And as I’ve often said this off-season — something has to give. The Seahawks have numerous holes, no cap space and hardly any draft picks.
The idea of having a fairly quiet, uneventful off-season isn’t realistic. They pretty much have to do something. We’ll have to wait and see what it is.
It could still be a Jamal Adams trade, as Brady Henderson notes here:
“When the Seahawks acquired Adams last summer, they figured they could trade him this offseason as a last resort if they couldn’t get a deal done. That means they have lots of incentive to figure out his future before the draft.”
For more on this topic, watch our latest podcast:
***Update***
Jason La Canfora tweeted the following late on Monday:
I’m hearing Russell Wilson’s camp has grown increasingly frustrated by the Seahawks inability to protect the 8 time Pro Bowler. He has been sacked 394 times in 9 seasons. This situation warrants serious monitoring.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 9, 2021
A lot of people will outright dismiss this. Yet it’s important to try and figure out what’s going on here.
‘Wilson’s camp’ usually means Mark Rodgers. The fact he’s talking to the media again should be cause for concern.
Rodgers was with Wilson when he won the Walter Payton ‘man of the year’ award. Unlike other journalists, La Canfora was in Tampa Bay as part of CBS’s Super Bowl coverage.
It doesn’t take Poirot to work out what’s happened here.
I’m sure that Wilson and co seek improvements to the O-line and this could be an attempt to direct Seattle’s off-season plan.
Yet this is also an expression of dissatisfaction.
As Florio, another person who uses Rodgers as a source, adds:
Wilson’s concerns sweep much more broadly than a complaint about the quality of the team’s offensive line. It’s the overall offense. It’s the early exits from the playoffs. It’s everything that has kept the Seahawks and Wilson from getting back to the Super Bowl.
Eventually people are going to have to stop being in denial about this and accept that the ‘no smoke without fire’ proverb is starting to appear apt.
Whether this is a pre-emptive strike to steer personnel decisions in 2021 or the start of a drawn out campaign to position himself with another team this year or next — it’s increasingly clear that all is not well.
It feels like the team is in a fight to align its vision with the quarterbacks, while also matching his ambition. And if that doesn’t happen — watch out. Because Wilson has been especially clear on what he expects.
Part of me wonders how much of this is about timing. With Drew Brees retiring — and the Saints reportedly making advances — it’s completely plausible that Wilson craves to follow in the footsteps of a player who inspired him so much while playing for Sean Payton — a Head Coach he perhaps would rather play for at this stage in his career.
That’s speculation on my behalf, of course. But if Wilson wants New Orleans — they might make a different move this off-season that makes it impossible 12 months down the line. If this is a now or never moment, would it be all that surprising if Wilson tries to make it happen?
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I’d be up for a trade! Shake things up a bit. Russell has been great for the city of Seattle, but for some reason I wouldn’t mind him being traded, especially after the way he played the second half of last year (which is likely an outlier).
Trading a franchise QB in the prime of his career is one of the dumbest possible things an organization can do, especially when you have Carroll and Schneider using those picks. They were good drafting a decade ago, but their track record is pretty pathetic in the last half-decade. I’d rather get rid of guys like that than an actual stud player on the field at the most important position in professional sports.
The way Russell played last year he may have peaked. Something looked off the last half the season.
Also I know 35 million + is the prevailing contract, but it’s getting out of hand and is a risky bet that the quarterback will play at an elite level throughout a 5 year contract.
My image of what Pete want’s is more like the rookie Russell Wilson. A quarterback that can run or throw the ball.
You’re right, something looked off. Maybe he was injured and not 100 percent. We will probably never know if that was the case.
Russell will be traded if not this year, then certainly soon. For the same “philosophical reason’s Schott is no longer a Hawk – don’t defy Pete! And particularly because he no longer has the spark and drive to play for championships. He truly has never had the size to play in the NFL – see 6’5″/6’6” O & D linemen, thus has to hold on to the ball too long, and therefore makes any O line he plays w/ look inept! Hey, where’s my QB at now! Plus he’s pudgier & heavier now, slower too. The “Good Life, will do that to you.
A few good years of novelty have worn off and Schneider now realizes change is needed. BRADY, PEYTON, ROTHELSBERGER, FLACCO, FOLES, & now HERBERT! It’s time to get a Real QB, more than just a community Athletic Supporter. One that can command and SEE the entire field w/o running for daylight and his life.
Yes, GO HAWKS! TRADE RUSSELL AT MAX VALUE.
Wilson himself said he wasn’t hurt. Defenses adjusted to him and he struggled. It happens almost every year in the NFL. New player/scheme/coach tears up the league, scores a bunch of points, but the defenses eventually catch on.
Apparently no one payed attention to what was going on this season. Pete took over in the second half of the season and throttled the aggressive offensive play calling. You can’t blame Wilson for that. That’s why Huard said Waldron is the guy for Wilson (and Pete). He will bridge this offensive power struggle if you will between these two. We all know Pete likes to run the ball…ALOT. And he likes to be conservative (at the wrong times) too much. You cant always win like that. Hawks gotta attack and keep on attacking until their opponent is lifeless and completely destroyed. That’s what Wilson wants….EVERY GAME.
Winning cures everything. We will have to wait and see.
Well they don’t play a game for another eight months and they’ve won one playoff game in four years.
How many wins will they get next year? 10, 11, 12?
Though trends are, of course, not linear, if 2017-2020 is any indication (9, 10, 11, 12 wins) they’re looking at 13 wins in 2021.
Sadly it doesn’t quite work that way
Haha of course not 🙂
But I feel like the talent level, post LOB/Marshawn, has at least incrementally gotten better and better (DK,Duane,DLew, Poona, Dunlap, Brooks, D Reed, Adams, Diggs, Myers, Dickson) and hopefully new pieces continue to emerge.
Cautiously optimistic about the new offensive staff as well.
If they can get Linsley or Scherff in FA and then spend the 2nd rounder on the best IOL on the board. I think 15-2 sounds about right. (remember 17 games next season)
It’s one thing to shut the conversation down, it’s another to keep taking calls.
There’s a very naive majority of fans that think this is nothing. I’m not saying he’ll be traded, but I’m also saying I believe JS is exploring what that could look like. If he’s doing his job right, nothing is ever off the table.
I have thought for a long time that Pete doesn’t think Russ is as good as Russ thinks he is.
I also don’t think Pete thinks Russ is close to the same level as Mahomes, Brees, Rodgers, Brady etc.
Agree that a trade (not this year but next) isnt as crazy as some would think.
I don’t think it’s out of the question and makes perfect sense that Wilson might be testing the waters to see what opportunities that may present themselves. He no doubt sees the Seahawks situation this year as clearly as Rob. Something has to happen, maybe it’s a bounty of draft picks for Wilson, Wagner and Adams, and some good FA signings. I could live with a good supporting cast on offense and defense with a young game manager QB. It could take a couple of years, but it’s a better alternative than what were looking at now.
Many of us and Russ probably think that Pete isn’t as good as Pete thinks he is either. I’ll choose the productive player on the field than the overrated coach on the sidelines any day.
You beat me to pretty much this exact post Bobby. Afraid I’m old and slow. 😀
Sign me up for this opinion! I keep hearing PC described by various media and talking heads as one of the top coaches in the league, and I’m just wondering based on what evidence? 2013? Talk about living on past glories. If I had to choose between new head coach or new QB, Positive Pete would be retired tomorrow.
Pete wouldn’t be wrong on both accounts.
“I have thought for a long time that Pete doesn’t think Russ is as good as Russ thinks he is.”
If that’s the case I’m with Pete. There’s no question Wilson is very good. But he’s not elite. All this talk of wanting to be the goat… c’mon man. You’re not even the best of your time, let alone all time. And it’s not because others are holding him back.
Kevin Harlan is a national treasure
https://twitter.com/NFL_Memes/status/1358771585344286722
That was probably the most exciting part of the game yesterday….epic call!
What I like about this conversation is its extreme nature. It frees the mind enough to be able to reasonably consider the trading of Jamal Addams and/or Bobby Wagner.
This season of franchise quarterback trade possibilities has taken the scales from the eyes of coaching staffs and management. Let alone the players realizing their position may have changed in this strange year – both positively and negatively.
Now if we can just interject into the social conversation the idea of the advantage and potential of trading Addams and Wagner we might have PC/JS see how the Seahawks can strengthen the offensive and defensive lines and become the team that Pete really envisions. It should be enlightened self-interest.
.
Well part of freeing the mind involves what you could bring back. Say its the Dolphins starting with Tua and #3 #18 and future picks, you could add a 21 year old Penei Sewell to be the Duane Brown replacement and current RT and knowing JS, he’d likely do what he could to trade #18 for more 2s/3s/4s to help fill out the roster. I suppose the Jets/Darnold are the only other feasible option but I seem to find Tua to be the better gamble.
The team could then likely keep Carson, Adams, Dunlap, Wagner easily enough and continue to rebuild the team in other ways while seemingly staying competitive.
A trade this year is very unlikey unless a team offers something absolutely outrageous. On the flip side, it is probably the only year that a truly outrageous offer might arrive. If next year is a success, then the Seahawks are riding Wilson and Waldron as long as we can. If next year is not a success, either because Wilson plays poorly, or the system is a let down, or both, then the trade vaue is not going to be as high; you have a compromised and/or unsettled player. If a wild, franchise-changing offer arrives in the order of a viable starter, 3 first rounders + extra picks this year, it would be very tempting to take it.
This is a huge story that will definitely have threads coming.
Another one is the salary cap. Teams have until March 17 to get under the cap.
Seven teams are more than $20m over the cap and will need to put in some work to get compliant.
Will teams finally ‘pay’ for treating the salary cap like a suggestion more than a firm ceiling?
And will the Seahawks be tempted to join the credit card crowd with so little cap room and so many needs?
Whoa. Didn’t know this. Seahawks can create cap room on RW’s deal without his OK.
https://twitter.com/corryjoel/status/1358504004414672896
Seems kinda pointless tbh. Why would he ever say no to getting more money in his pocket right away? (Convert base salary to signing bonus so it can be spread over future years)
Ah, makes sense. Thanks.
Over The Cap says restructuring Russ’s deal gives us $11.9 mil in cap this year.
If we don’t trade Wagner, then we can save $6 mil this year restructuring.
Using the credit card this year might not be the worst thing in the world this year. $18 mil in a year where the veteran market might tank could go a long way. You have to imagine the cap next year will go up when tis covid stuff is over (hopefully)
Restructuring both players carries a lot of risk.
If Russell is happy in Seattle, sure, restructure away.
If he decides he wants to be somewhere else in 2022, the Seahawks would face a huge dead cap hit and have basically no cap savings realized in a trade. Meaning they’d either have to find a cheap stopgap, a rookie, or eat a fat chunk of cap on his replacement.
If the Seahawks went the restructure route they probably wouldn’t go the full $11.9m. Maybe half that to mitigate some of the risk.
If they restructured Bobby he would carry a $26m cap number in 2022 with a $10m dead cap hit if cut or traded, and only $10m cap savings. That aint happening.
I may be wrong, but I read the following things into this:
1. Russ only benefits from people having interest in him, you can’t have people asking only for Wentz and Carr and not for Wilson. On the other side, Lions also tried to get Donald as a part of Stafford trade, so you can’t blame people from trying.
2. La Canfora’s article on cbs ended with a hint towards the Seahawks that they better improve the line in front of him. Maybe this is again an indirect pointer towards PC and JS: you better get the draft and FA right or I’m leaving next year.
We just dont know what those conversations are like when another team calls John inquiring about Russ. If he slams that door shut this should go away at least for the next year. If he is leaving that door cracked open a little we could be hearing this for awhile.
Even if the door slams, it doesn’t mean the QB won’t re-open it.
You cannot claim to be “in on every deal” and not at least listen when someone calls about RW.
I think the term “every deal” refers to other teams players and not our own. If John wants to get rid of these talks from the Seahawks end he can. Your right though about Russ and Rodgers as he cant control that talk.
Great write up of the situation again Rob. It sure feels a little like negotiating through the media again.
Wilson did it for some input on our OC; why not for how we act in Free-agency.
Especially with limited cap space and 3 or 4 draft picks.
Wilson will want a team that puts him in a better position to do what he feels will help them win.
La Confora:
“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.”
Do I think he cares if Adams and Wagner are on the team… No.
Give hime the choice of adding 2 legit O-lineman or keeping those two; i think we know who he would choose.
Watching TB defense yesterday and watching a great blend of youth with speed and veterans. White for a LB and Bunting while a small corner are both crazy fast.
How can you not imagine opting to do similar or atleast trying. We’ve added Brooks, have Umadi, Blair and Dj Reed. All seem to fit that type of defense.
Dunlap, Reed, and Ford. We just need to add to that D-line. Go younger cheaper and faster. Like you said get players with chips on their shoulders who are hungry again on defense.
You are correct we have talked about this before and I also think it’s still worth talking about.
Wilson knows we need big changes in the trenches if we want to take a step forward. He also knows as do we; The Seahawks dont have many options.
I could easily see this as his way to get it out there.
If we want to get where I want to be in Seattle we need to make changes or I might not want to be here.
If so good for him.
I think it lends more credence to your offseason plan and what it might take.
Seahawks can’t afford to be complacent and stay as is. They need to improve this team. Especially in the trenches.
To me the rumors only show Wilson agrees. Hopefully Carroll and Co. Listen and make some difficult choice.
Whether it works or not we need to be proactive in upgrading our team. Spending a ton on Adams and Wagner would not be a good start. Time to try something else.
Even with all the current (and past) smoke out there regarding a RW trade, I just don’t think it happens. Whether you like his style or not, he’s the face of the franchise and a top 5 QB in the league who’s still in his prime years! Also, the team just brought in a new OC, his guy if you will, so its hard to see them trading him away anytime soon.
At the same time I think Bobby and Jamal may very well be on the trade block! No question the Hawks need to free up cap space and add draft picks.
I was completely impressed with that TB defense yesterday, their speed and toughness showed up constantly. Reminded me of another defense that won a fairly recent super bowl! It’s a great model, tried and true!
It does seem to be getting a little smokey around RW. This off season seems a little premature, but there does seem to be some ultimatums formulating.
Personally: I think Russell Wilson is going no where.
Rob just for the sake of having some fun. Hypothetical question. Let’s say the Jets offer Sam Darnold and three first round picks for Russell Wilson. Would you pull the trigger? Do you think Schneider would pull the trigger? Some women in Seattle have a LOVE AFFAIR with Russell Wilson. This could devastate a big chunk of the Seahawk fan base.
Also Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson might be butting heads(maybe, who knows). But I think with hiring of Shane Waldron is going to change the equation. If their indeed was a rift. I think Russell Wilson is really going to enjoy Shane Waldron’s concepts. Also by hiring Waldron Pete Carroll recognizes that their has to be change of philosophy. And I like what I am hearing from Waldron.
One other point. I think in the future (unless you have a LaMarr Jackson/Josh Allen type of QB teams are going to have to run more and more up the gut. Linebackers and DBs and also some DEs are getting really fast. It is simply getting harder and harder to run outside. Yes you can still do. But you better be able to run up the gut/off tackle. Green Bay attacked the Rams defense by running up the gut. Tampa Bay had the same formula against K.C. In fact after the first game against K.C. they had their bye week . They decided to scrape much of their running attack. They simply ran POWER FOOTBALL. Of coarse it was nice to have a Leonard Fornette complimented by Ronald Jones. The Bucs just overpowered the K.C. defensive line with their two deep safetys.
With a projected $185 mil salary cap for 2021 that is being suggested, what could the Hawks do with $13,599 mil and additional restructured contracts, in order to bolster the OL and sign some of their own free agents?
Not much
Schefter tweeted yesterday that it will be 180-181mil, so overthecap allready working with 180.5mil SC.
Not Rob. But i wouldn’t do a Russell Wilson trade unless there’s more behind the scenes.
Otherwise;
Since we gave the Jets two 2st and a 3rd plus a player for Adams; I would thing a Franchise QB is worth double a Safety
Admittedly we way over paid.
If they offered that I’d counter with Sam Darnold, 2021 picks 2, 23, & 34; also included would be the Jets two 1st round picks in 2022
Jets get Russell Wilson and a 2022 3rd or 4th.
Make them say no.
I like the picks but not really Sam Darnold.
It’s not just the women. Some men get really angry and shouty when you talk about the Seahawks possibly moving him. Ditto Jamal Adams.
You don’t think of that when building a football team.
Thanks Rob: Yes there I men who have a man crush on Russell Wilson. However, I have almost never heard a woman complain about Russell Wilson. But I have heard plenty of men who complain. Mainly about how they think Russell Wilson is overpaid. When you consider Russell Wilson’s first contract. You can’t really complain about the fact that he is trying to get as much money as possible. But it is really interesting. Over the years there is only one QB who has not maximized his earning potential. I will give you one guess. No it’s not Patrick Holmes. In my opinion 10 years 450mil is NOT a home town discount. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/patrick-mahomes-21751/#:~:text=Patrick%20Mahomes%20signed%20a%2010,average%20annual%20salary%20of%20%2445%2C000%2C000.
I’m pretty sure there are women who complain about Wilson.
What would you do with pick 2 Rob? Go after a QB or shore up LT for a decade?
Im also wondering who you would rather have next year. Tua or Darnold?
I’m fine with whatever if it stops the constant drama around the Hawks. This team is worse than a soap-opera.
If we get decent value (not sure like 3 R1, 2 R2 and a player if these are mid-round picks. Or 2 early R1, 1 R2, 1 R3 and 1-2 good players), I’m OK with the trade.
If they don’t wanna trade and RW wants to stay then close all these chatters.
There is less talk about ARod being traded but he’s a bit older and GB drafted a QB in R1 so would seem more likely they contemplate moving on…and the way Rodgers played they could get a sweet deal…so it would be good for them and afaik ARod doesn’t have a no trade clause either…but even with all that the talks are much louder with Seattle…it’s crazy
I’d definitely listen if it involved Watson, if not, I’m just not so sure.
A problem with taking a, hopefully brief, step back by moving on from Russ to any league average QB is not owning your indigenous 1st round pick – erasing any value in bottoming out. And Russ has been the only thing keeping them from consistently picking in the top 10.
I have no problem with the Hawks trading Wilson. I simply don’t trust JS to get fair compensation in any deal he makes. He’s been terrible for some time both in drafting and trading.
Any big move and Schneider usually looks like a fool (big trades, first round picks, etc.).
But Schneider generally looks pretty good making smaller type deals (like Diggs and Dunlap).
Which begs the question of how much sway Pete had on the big vs little deals. I almost feel like he would take more of a ‘do what you think is best’ approach with trading 5th & 7th rounders, and a ‘I need to have an equal or greater say’ in who we select or trade for with the 1’s.
The Jamal deal in particular feels like it was Pete saying ‘I listened to you and waited on Clowney, now he’s a Titan and all of FA has passed us by. Now you’ll listen to me: Go get Adams, regardless of the cost’.
Even if I’m dead wrong, I agree that it’s hard to have much faith in anything this FO does lately in regards to their ‘big moves’.
We’ll never know but I like your take on the first paragraph, could see that for sure.
I could see the Raider’s making a call. I wouldn’t mind Carr, Josh Jacobs, a couple of firsts and mid rounders.
They have a great OL and phenomenal weapons. Ciara gets to work in LV too.
Gruden’s not the most likable coach out there but he knows how to win.
I think the talk of trading Wilson is more smoke than fire but the consistency of it is puzzling. My guess is it’s more likely Wilson than the team but that would indicate either a consistent unhappiness with being on this team or a strong desire to always keep his name in the news, neither of which is appealing. If it’s the team leaking this, it may also be an unhappiness with the fit on a player/salary cap basis and just casting a line to see if anyone is really willing to overpay.
I don’t know, if you’re the Seahawks, if you’re really willing to deal a hall of fame quarterback close to his prime and take the flak from both your fans and players and potentially have Wilson not go into the HOF as a Seahawk. Having salary cap flexibility and a large number of draft picks isn’t a sure thing with this team (see last year, ugh).
If Wilson wants out or if the Seahawks feel he’s either peaked or suffered too many hits and isn’t consistent enough for them, you’d ideally not be floating this to the entire league but hyper focusing on one or two teams, keeping things quiet and getting this done before the draft.
Latest draft series interview just conducted:
David Moore, G, Grambling State
Will publish it tomorrow.
Well done!
Not sure David Moore is worthy of another deal, but there is something to be said with having the “David Moore” squad on our team.
I can always count on Rob! Thanks!
I know it can’t be expected of him, but if Russ were to offer to play for, say $25m next season instead of $35, that sure would help a cap-strapped team facing the consequences of a pandemic year to buy him an extra OL and have a better shot at a deep playoff run…
They had 50M last year and had a horrible offseason. It has nothing to do with Wilson’s contract. Sure it could help, but the team needs to start putting what resources they do have where they need to be 1st.
Bingo! They wasted $50 million. How the heck do you waste $50 million? Yet fans blame a franchise QB for making too much when the idiots running the show spend $50 million and have nothing to show for it. The Jamal Adams trade shows that Russ could take league minimum and Carroll and Schneider would still find a way to produce a losing team in January if we judge them by the last half-decade plus.
Damn right
It would be pretty unusual and unexpected for RW, or any players for that matter, to give back nearly 30% of their paycheck! Do we even know how much Mike Evans gave back? His cap number is about $16.6m, so he would have to give the team back almost $5m!
Sure hope we’re not reduced to hoping the players start giving some of their salary back in order to field a proper team!
Here’s another angle- it could be the usual negotiation via media while they work on an extension to fix their cap situation a bit. It’s not like Wilson hasnt done that before to help out and if he wants legit top end OL help, he probably realises he needs to do so again.
I don’t think negotiating through the media to lower a cap hit sounds right.
I get the previous years of speculation. But this year when i heard calls on RW, i just shrugged it off. Will he eventually play for another team? Im 99% sure. Montana, brady, manning, most do. But this just sounds like the seahawks will listen on anyone. And theyve been open to listening to tons of offers over the years. And theyve moved other big names. The hawks are known for being willing to make big moves. So i can see why other organizations are quick to talk to them.
While i get reporting things and rumor mills. Its been increasingly evident that media loves to connect dots and stir up stories even when theres little to go with. This screams that. Teams call on rodgers, they called on brady, they call on everyone. And players/teams love to posturize on anything to create the narrative.
But hawks arent moving RW, listening 2 years ago, or next year? yes. This year makes 0 sense with the dead money and the coaching hire. Its hardly worth attention. But it gets attention cuz hes RW in little seattle, and hey the jets or vegas or some other cooler market would look cooler with him. It lets media make dumb connections and get infatuated with RW and belichek or whatever.
Why now.. It’s Brady. Watching him play in SB for hundredth time and for a different team (leaving his legacy behind in NE) will make Russ cringe that he only won once and been there twice. It probably confirms to him and his agent that system and talent around is important than playing for Pete and Sea legacy with no solution in sight.
It’s almost like Russ is (Russ can never be the bad guy) trying to passive aggressively get Seahawks to trade him without Russ being the one who initiates it happening. The constant whispers about his legacy goals etc, being traded to particular teams etc. As the article mentioned, why would Seahawks, Russ, or other teams even mention any of this. What do each have to gain by this being made public?
[sarcasm] once again, Seahawks ignore the offensive line [/sarcasm]
I put Warmack right up there with Finney…did he end up costing us anything?
No. He was on the Covid reserve list so salary wasn’t paid.
You know what to do Richard.
Join Brady in Tampa…? 😙
Coming home
Rob, you sure do seem to have a lot more confidence in Sherm coming back to Seattle than I do. As much as I love him as a LOB founding member and want him to finish his career here, his injuries and the money he will want (which we currently don’t have) just seems to be too much.
Sherman will want to finish the way he wants, in the place he wants.
There will be mutual interest in getting this done — and there’s a deal to be done that works for both parties.
Really hoping you are right about this, would love to see it.
2 years $14m sounds about good to me.
I see like 20% Sherm coming back:
1, He doesn’t/shouldn’t trust the Hawks to get back to the SB in those 2 years
2, Hawks doesn’t have much money
3, He likes Russ as a person, but not a fan of his as a QB I think
4, He respects Pete, but I don’t think he’s a big fan of him either
Apart from history and maybe some gratitude of selecting him late…why would he come back?
I think it’s more likely he’ll go to a team with decent SB chances in those 2 years (Bills, Bucs, GB, KC, not sure which team he feels has a decent chance), or to the Lions after Saleh, or maybe the closest to home: LA Rams or Chargers.
I think the most likely factor will be the chance to play one more SB…and that’s not with Seattle
It’s a lot more than 20%.
Is that just a hunch or have you heard something?
The Jets have 4 first round picks in the next 2 years plus Sam Darnold. Just saying.
Two of those #1 picks are from an idiot team wanting a strong safety who can’t cover, never mind the 3rd round pick that was thrown in this year. #whatajoke
#45th ranked Safety in the NFL
52nd now, they switched up their rankings
#notworthwhathewillwant
Imagine the Hawks trading Adams for a 2nd round pick to some team as they don’t wanna pay him and the market would be cold.
Trading Russ to the Jets for their R1s an R3 and Sam Darnold
It would mean the Hawks traded:
Russell Wilson and McDougald
for
Sam Darnold and an R2
Not happening
“good bye russ… hello sherman!”
For those of you wanting to see Russ go (you know who you are), be careful what you wish for. Seattle has played 45 seasons and had exactly one franchise QB, him (loved you Matt and you too Dave but neither of you were true franchise QBs). That’s nearly a half century of Seahawks football.
Don’t dis those guys, Big Mike. They were good QBs for us and I love them both as well as Zorn.
No diss meant and I loved them too, but I contend they weren’t true franchise QBs. Jmo of course. You may feel differently and that’s great.
I think using terms like “franchise QB”, “prime of his career,” and the like are nonstarters for any real discussion. What does that mean, “franchise QB?” The QB that plays for the franchise? Russ is a top 10 QB who for half of a season played worse than that. Who might be on the tail end of his career, for all we know. Who “burns to win” but for some reason won’t put the fork down so he can escape the rush again, or won’t take a dollar less than he could to help the team free up money to build around him. He doesn’t burn to win, he burns to be adored.
Russ is the best QB in our history, but if you look at the landscape of CFB they are cranking out a lot more QBs than they used to. Just in the past handful of years we’ve seen Allen, Herbert, Dak, Watson, Lamar, Mahomes, Murray, et al., and this year we’re adding 3-4 more who could potentially be very good. I think Pete’s system could work with a good QB if we built a running game and defense around him.
None of those QB’s you mentioned have won a Conference Championship let alone a SBowl. RW has.
Mahomes l has won one.
And I would tell you I’m still on board for trading Wilson.
But if the Hawks doesn’t trade Wilson…do we have a franchise QB for 1 year? 3 years? 5 years? 10 years?
Russ will retire sooner or later, so we won’t have a franchise QB forever. And he might decline after a couple of years…
So by not trading him now or the near future it could mean:
You have him for 1-2-3 years as an elite QB and after that he becomes mediocre. And even if you want to trade him you wouldn’t get as much for him as now. And maybe they don’t trade him but if he starts to become mediocre, how much do you pay for him if he reaches FA? What if other team pays more and you lose him for nothing?
If I can choose between:
1, Have Russ as a good/great/elite QB for 2-3-4 more years tops, and then don’t really get anything for him or keep playing him for big bucks when he’s mediocre or even bad and we have no chance of SB in the next 10 years (except for the next 2-3-4, but that’s a BIG if with so many holes so little resources)
2, Trade Russ this or next year for a ton of nice picks and risk losing a lot for the next 2-3-4 years but be in a position to potentially go to the SB after 4-5-6 years from now
I’d take the 2nd
That’s such a weak excuse to settle and do nothing. Rather than look at one franchise history, I’d look at all franchises. 49ers, Rams, Raiders the list goes on. Each has replaced their franchise QB.
Mahomes (10th ‘17) Deshaun Watson (12th ‘17) Lamar Jackson (32nd ‘18) Josh Allen (7th ‘18) Tua Tagovailoa (5th ‘20) Justin Herbert (6th ‘20). That’s just the last few years. If you need a QB, you’re picking in that range anyways.
JSPC shot their shots, spent their resources, played their chips. If they continue as they have the past 3 years, they’ll continue to just barely make the playoffs. NFC West isn’t getting any easier and Wilson isn’t getting any younger. If you want the resources to rebuild, you don’t waste trade value by swashbuckling two years of RW talents. You’re just delaying the inevitable. I’d rather recognize the situation for what it is, and start rebuilding now than two years from now and get less in compensation.
J.S.: (to a random NFL GM) “Sorry, we’re fresh out of the Franchise Quarterbacks, but we’ve got a great special today on blitzing safeties…”
The old ‘bait and switch.’ Just dreaming, is all. 😉
A sad reminder: Tampa Bay and Seattle entered the league together as expansion franchises in 1976. They now have more championships than our team, 2 to 1. 😞
Don’t worry Big Mike, baseball season starts soon and the Mariners never disappoint.
Man you really know how to lift a man’s spirits my friend. #crying
Well, based on his description, it sounds like it could be worse. We could be fans of Rob’s football club in England.
V good post btw.
“It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that in seven years time, Wilson might be staring at the reality check father time too frequently delivers.“
Too frequently? You spelled always wrong !😂
If you could only chosee one of KJ or Sherman and the contracts were both the same (2y $14m) who ya got?
It’s hard… We need a CB much more. And KJ is better at SAM then WILL so that position even has less value.
But KJ played great last year. Sherm is not with the team, not sure how would he gel with the newer guys, or is there any old splinter in Sherm/older guys/Russ.
Based on need I’d take Sherm hands down
Based on like I’d take KJ…he should finish his career here
2 yrs 14M. I’ll take Sherman at that
From Jason La Canfora:
https://twitter.com/jasonlacanfora/status/1358992486253821958?s=10
No doubt this will be dismissed by many.
But here’s the reality. Mark Rodgers is talking to the media again. Which is never a good thing.
And there’s a reason we’ve been talking about Wilson for a few weeks and having conversations some people don’t want to have.
This isn’t about ‘sacks’. Look beyond that.
It’s about a QB who is very, very ambitious and has a very clear image of what the remaining years of his career looks like —- and is increasingly unsure if the team shares that image.
https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/status/1358992486253821958
If this is what it takes for us to invest in some serious O-Line help, I’m all for it.
Mike Sando for the win
http://twitter.com/SandoNFL/status/1358999476568920064
Lol. Love the Sando one. Russell does alot of that.
Measurably so, too. His time-to-throw is well over average.
The spin move rocks
I Still think that’s why the rumors are out there. I believe it’s Wilson’s way of saying Get me some O-line help. Last year was more i believe in our front office.
Then a bad offseason and seeing players he wanted go to other teams after asking for them.
i would do what i could too; to hopefully get some input into this offseason, before it ends badly again.
I think this is all a big power flex by Russ. First he puts his foot down to get the OC he wants. Note he’s taking the organization that he wants O line to be a bigger priority. Not saying he’s wrong.
So if the Hawks were to trade Wagner and Adams, and trade/release Jarran Reed, would adding these four free agents be realistic?
Sherman or Griffin
Scherff or Linsley
Leonard Williams
Gerald Everett
Realistic to add all four cap wise I mean.
I think yes.
I don’t have exact numbers or idea what would Sherm demand…but lets say 8m APY. First year could be 4m
Scherff could take a multiyear deal, first year could be 8-10m, Williams also with lower 1st year CAP hit (8-10 again). Everett could also take a multiyear deal with first hit around 5-6m. So those there would be around 25-30m.
With 181M CAP it would give the Hawks 37,5M under the CAP
So doable, but really unlikely.
Just trading Adams and Wagner with some other contracts restructured will get you 3. 2 OL and Sherman plus the draft picks would be a nice start to the offseason. We need to keep Reed.
Reed is a bum compared to Leonard Williams. You really want to keep Reed with a $13M cap hit?
I’ve updated my article with a few more lines following the Jason La Canfora report on Wilson.
Increasingly I’m wondering if this is about Wilson wanting New Orleans/Sean Payton and feeling if he doesn’t try and go for it now, the opportunity might not be there in 12 months.
Is it even possible to put his cap hit into their SC this season?
And we would take huuuge dead money in that case…
Well the Eagles (-$49m) are about to trade Wentz.
And the Rams (-$26m) traded Goff’s contract.
So yes, the Seahawks can trade Wilson.
Yes we can trade him. We would increase our cap hit for about 7mil but its possible. My question was is it possible to do it with Saints. We know their cap situation and Wilsons cap hit for next 3 years.
Well the Saints are already $75m over the cap.
So you tell me whether any of this matters any more.
Well, by reports, last off season they wanted to sign Clowney but couldnt because of SC… They even try some type of trade but league didnt allow… So yes you can manipulate by salary cap a lot, but at the end there is still limit you just cant cross… And from this perspective, at least for me, with their current 75mil over the cap, it looks like its mission impossible to put Russ contract under their cap for 2021…but if they somehow find their Ethan Hawk you never know 😁
Ethan Hunt not Hawk… To much Hawks into my head…
That’s not the point though. The point is — they are $75m over the cap already with no reasonable way of getting under.
Meanwhile two other teams in worse cap trouble are similar trading away or have traded away big QB contracts.
So we can all sit here and say this that and the other about what NO can and can’t do. It’s pointless. We’re seeing what’s possible play out.
Exactly.
People keep saying teams “can’t” go over the salary cap… yet the league has *already* allowed teams to complete deals that put them over the salary cap!
It’s already happening, folks!
Even *if* there are penalties down the road (which we have no way of knowing), it will likely be in fines or possibly lost draft picks.
So it’s not even a matter of if it’s “possible” to go over the cap, its a matter of if teams are willing to suffer the (potential) consequences of going over the cap.
Yeah but both Goff’s and Wentz”s dead money cap hits are lower than what there cap hits would be if they were on the team. If Russ was traded his cap hit would go up by $7m. He may be traded next year but it isnt happening this year.
The Rams also acquired a Stafford contract and are still paying Goff millions to play elsewhere. All while being over the cap.
What would it even cost for the Saints to get him? They’d obviously have to give at least 2 first round picks possibly more even, but because they’re so low in the draft, you’d think they’d have to send some pretty good players too.
Players, picks, a kings ransom
What players on NO would you be interested in Rob?
I have a list
could be a third team that gets involved in a trade as well
Would almost have to be, cause they would have to dump salary somehow and we would want much more than a couple late R1s.
Would JS/PC send him to an NFC team?
If this is what it is about then Russ took too many hits. It should have 0 chance…absolutely zero.
1, Saints doesn’t have CAP at all
2, They don’t have that much picks nor high enough picks
I understand that Russ has a no trade clause so Hawks can’t trade him to a place they want, but Russ cannot really trade himself to a place he wants either.
But lets talk players who could work for us in a trade with the Saints:
Kwon Alexander: If we trade Bobby and play Brooks inside he could be OLB (Saints could save 13m with zero dead hit, 13M cap this year, under contract until 2024)
Terron Armstead: Great young tackle, we could use him (16m CAP hit this year, under contract till ’23. Saints would make 7m cap with a trade)
Cameron Jordan: Older, but still a great DE…not sure they’d want to trade him, but might (only 2m save for them, 19m CAP this year, under contract til 2024)
Taysom Hill: He’s not a good QB, but he can throw deep and definitely can run…as a stopgap he could work (last year of his contract, 16m cap hit, Saints could save 12m)
Janoris Jenkins: Not sure how good he is…certainly older now. We need CBs so he could be worked into the deal (Saints could make 8m CAP, he has 14M hit, and after this one more year in his contract with limited CAP hit)
Andrus Peat: He could start as LG, but money-wise it’s not good for the Saints (they would only save 1,2M, has 11,6M hit this year, under contract til ’24)
Ryan Ramczyk: Definitely a trade candidate for both parties. We could use a good RT with a potential to go maybe LT later and Saints could make CAP (They would save 11m, current CAP hit is 11m and this is his last year. We could extend him, bumping his salary APY and make 1st year lower)
Marshon Lattimore: Another good candidate. We need good CBs. And Saints could make good money (last year of his contract, zero GTD they’d make 10m in CAP. We could also extend him, which would mean more money but we could make 1st year hit lower)
David Onyemata: We could use another DT. Ton of sacks, one int in 2020, solid consistent guy, played in most games in his career (Saints could make 2,5M. Current CAP 10m, under contract until the end of ’23)
Nick Easton: I have no idea how good of a G/C he is. But we need a C, and Saints have Ruiz/McCoy for C and probably solid OGs too and could make good money trading Easton (almost 6m save in CAP, only 1m dead hit, under contract til end of ’22)
Malcolm Brown: DT, we could use him in rotation (last year of his contract, Saints could save 5m…not sure if we’d want him, nothing fancy, but for the Saints trading him would worth it)
Marcus Davenport: Young DE. We could use him, Saints could make a small amount of CAP (2,3M save for them, he’s an R1, 4th year of his contract is next year, 5th year could be picked up…not really a gamewrecker guy, so not sure if it’s worth for any parties)
Latavius Murray: We could use an RB (Saints could make 2,5M, he’s under contract until end of 2022)
Erick McCoy: Now he’s a more natural C. With Ruiz they might be willing to part ways with McCoy. (They’d make 500K so not much, he’s under contract until end of ’22)
—–
Other notes:
Trading Michael Thomas would cost them 1,2M and would make Russ pretty unhappy
Sanders is old so not sure how much we’d want him, and Russ I’m sure would like him in the Saints
Malcolm Jenkins is also an older player and we don’t really need FS.
They won’t trade Kamara…unique player, still young and would actually cost them to trade/cut him
So…what would make sense?
If Hawks trade Adams and Wagner for picks, and Russ to the Saints, Hawks biggest needs will be:
OLB (Brooks could slip inside), QB, LG, C, CB, RB, future LT
Ramczyk (now at RT but start to train him to take Brown’s place in the future)
Lattimore (CB1)
Alexander (WILL)
Hill (stopgap QB)
Onyemata (good DT)
McCoy (good C)
Murray (OK RB)
only bigger need is LG for the draft, and we could go BPA.
While these would be a ton of good players for Russ, but Saints are desperate to make money, so they’d win by it also. Saints would make around 51M CAP with this move (Russ salary not counted)
Not 100% how salaries work in these cases, but I guess we’d then need to make room for their non-GTD part of the salary, so around 51M
After our 3 trades, we’d have around 22m
If they’d extend Lattimore, Ramczyk, maybe even McCoy, we could potentially reduce that 51m to lets say 40m. Extending Dunlap to +2 years and reducing CAP for next year could bump our space to 27m
We could trade Reed to make 8,5M and re-work Lockett’s contract to create some more money. We could also trade/cut Shell to make almost 3,5M
Trading Bobby for R3 maybe, and Adams for R1 and next year’s R3, and Reed for R3 would leave us with:
R1, R2, R3, R3, R4, R5, R7, R7
We could get:
QB in R1/2
LG in R2/3
DT in R3/4
LB (SAM) in R3/4
TE in R3/4/5
CB in R4/5/7
RB in R5/7
Risky, and would take a crazy ton of work from JS (new players, extensions, additional trades, etc), but it could work for the Saints too… Most of the players they’d give up they’d give up anyway, and their contracts are short term and to some positions they have depth
For the Hawks they’d lose their star QB, but get a solid OT, a star CB, good C, good DT and some OK players for now for QB and LB and RB.
Nice work Dani
RW: “I need better OL protection”
Seahawks: Trade RW to Saints for Ramczyk, Peat and McCoy.
My exact thoughts right now.
How ironic would be if Saints and the Hawks would trade Russ to the Saints for Ramczyk, Pete, McCoy Ruiz and Michael Thomas?
Hey Russ good luck without WR1 and the OL 😀
Have said for several years that Russ would thrive under Payton. It seems he might well feel the same way.
It’s inevitable he would feel that way. Whether it happens or not remains to be seen. But I’m pretty sure most QB’s would expect to thrive with Sean Payton.
It’s very easy to imagine Wilson loving the thought of replacing Brees and finishing his career with Payton.
I wonder how much of the o-line call out might be a pre-emptive measure of cover for Russ’s camp. If next season does’nt go so well will they then point (as a scapegoat) to the o-line/protection to cover Russ’s pie slice of the “blame”? And/or could it possibly be the biggest card played in the scenario of him asking to be traded? I’m not sure he’d go there but it would’nt be too hard for his camp to make a case that for a good portion of his career his o-line protections have been pretty rough.
I’m sure Russ has heard all of the visceral unrest and blame towards him (and from a larger portion of the fan base) this past season. Maybe in season’s past he did’nt choose to call out the deficiencies in the o-line because they were going to Super Bowls and he could Houdini his way out of pass rushes and he just wasn’t getting the finger pointed at him so harshly but I think this past season (a few seasons now really minus the deeper criticisms of the 2020) all of those parameters have changed against him and he’s finally willing to call the o-line situation out and even give his agent and himself a Trojan horse excuse to turn the finger pointing back at Pete and John if needed.
Next season certainly feels like it will be a telling one and in a number of ways.
On the Henderson tweet, that touched on my biggest fear with it all – we cannot let it go unresolved past the upcoming draft. If we do then trading him becomes very different(and not in a good way) and his camp would gain more leverage. I just get the feeling that it will be like the rest of the (in Pete’s eyes) star players first contracts under Pete & John where things go pretty long and people start getting a bit anxious and it’s the big topic for anything Hawks but ultimately a huge new deal gets done late in the hour(my guess an apy of 18 million perhaps 18.5).
If only we could get some of these gm’s to reach out and ask about acquiring Adams like they are Wilson…. one can hope.
“This ain’t no 22-23 year-old kid, this is a gd action figure out here!”
What a character…😂
I imagine that pretty much sums up what’s going through DB’s mind when they line up in front of DK…
[language NSFW]
https://twitter.com/dkm14/status/1358800652411887616
I still don’t think Russell Wilson is going anywhere. In the end, I don’t think any team will give Seattle the level of compensation it would require. I still think Las Vegas is the most likely though. There will be massive pressure on Davis to do something. A Raiders deal would almost certainly have to include Josh Jacobs. While the Raiders would be reluctant to part with a 1000 years rusher on a rookie deal, they don’t have the compensation otherwise. If the Raiders offered Carr, Jacobs, and their first and third this year with their first next year things could get interesting.
But I don’t really see the issue as whether you/we think he’ll go anywhere.
The larger issue is whether he actively wants to go somewhere else and the consequences that come with that.
And increasingly it looks like all is not well.
From his perspective, I’m sure the Saints look dreamy. As would several other teams. But we saw something similar with the Giants and going on late night TV during his last contract negotiations. Russell negotiates through the media. He’s not currently negotiating a contract, he’s negotiating control. He wants a seat at the table and significant input in how the offense is run. And he’s reminding Pete that he has options just as he did the last time we went through this.
From Pete’s perspective, I think he is looking at the end of his career with maybe three years left. So you’re Pete with a giant ego and desire to win another Super Bowl. Who or what gives you the best chance to do that? Even if you get the second or third pick in the draft, you’re not risking the final threeish years in coaching on a rookie QB. Its why a deal with the Dolphins and Jets are unlikely. But the Raiders give you a serviceable QB but more importantly a cheap, productive RB who allows Pete to reset his offense to what he wants to run. But it still isn’t the best option. I think Pete will decide keeping Russell with a new offensive coordinator and having John sprinkle fairy dust on retreads gives him the best chance to win.
And in the end, Pete will do what he always does, he’ll sell his way out of it. He’ll sell Russell on having a seat at the table and input in the offense. He’ll shower him with praise and BS. They’ll patch things up enough and Pete will talk about how the Seahawks are Super Bowl contenders. But I think next off season when that doesn’t happen is when it all falls apart because unless John has the best offseason of his career this is a team in decline.
The only thing that changes the above is if the Seahawks get an offer that completely blows them away. But they won’t. They didn’t trade Sherman when they should have and they didn’t trade Thomas when they should have. And, unfortunately, I have a felling they won’t trade Adams and Wagner this year when they should. But we’ll see, it’s going to be interesting.
I think you’re making a lot of assumptions.
It’s time to take this seriously.
I am making a lot of assumptions and speculating wildly. I could be spectacularly wrong and will freely admit to being a naive, fool if I am. But in the end, I think the one safe assumption is Pete Carroll will do what’s best for Pete Carroll. And the reason why Russell Wilson will be in a Seahawk uniform next year is ultimately Pete will decide that is what’s best for Pete.
The reason why Russell Wilson will finish the two years left on his contract is he’s getting paid a boatload of money, and it is highly unlikely that any other team will give up enough picks/players and pay 35 million a year for him.
Basically all these guys are locked in because they are getting paid way too much to leave.
Pete Carrol, John Schneider, Russell, and Wagner. There it is , follow the money.
Unless you can find a greater fool team, those four names are staying for two more years.
The team trading for Russ gets him at these salaries the next 3 seasons
2021: $19m
2022: $24m
2023: $26m
Wouldn’t we eat $39M in dead cap if he were traded in time for the draft though? You could trade him after June 1, and it’s $13M dead cap (per OTC) but by then the draft is over and gone and you’re trading for 2022 picks.
We’ve talked about how the team is in pretty ugly shape as is, for the cap. This would be a disaster, no? That’s almost 25% of our salary cap to dead money, AND we no longer have a QB.
Financially, it seems to be too much of an albatross this year. Next year, it’s not great, but $13M is a lot more manageable than $39M.
Yes. But if Russ wants to go, that’s what has to happen.
Plenty of teams would be willing to give up picks and pay Russell Wilson MORE than $35m
I would rather have Mariota than Carr honestly. But neither one is very appealing. Carr’s contract isn’t great either.
+1 Would love to see Mariota in a ‘hawks uniform. Mariota, Jacobs and a bunch of picks would be great.
I’ve updated the piece a third time at the bottom, given Mike Florio (another person who uses Rodgers as a source) has chimed in again.
That no trade clause is no bueno for the Seahawks, at least they could have kept some leverage.
JS: “So you are not happy here Russ, ok, pack you stuff, the driver will take you to the airport. Be ready at 07:50 sharp, the driver has to pick Jamal as well. You are heading to Houston!”
I just wonder how many times Wilson (or Mark Rodgers) can push stuff like this before the fan base grows wise to it and realises what is going on. It’s pretty hard to be ‘all-in’ for this team while your agent is pushing this stuff to the press.
https://twitter.com/not_lindsay/status/1358769767583260673
Im not leaning one way or another but is this all to get traded or to push his team to get better? Personally I think its the latter.
We’re there.
I think you’re spot on Rob. I don’t think this is about the sacks and O-line in particular. I think it’s his way of trying to get out of town but still trying to maintain his perfect image. It’s a little cowardly in my opinion, especially adding the word “Camp” to his name for the article. If I was any member of the O-line I’d be very upset with him especially this past season when it looked like Pass Pro was above average (not perfect by aby means) and he ran into a ton of sacks/didn’t get rid of the ball. That’s how it seemed to me at least.
I understand his frustration because it is exactly the same as we are all feeling and talking about for the last few years. The early playoff exits, the not sticking to identity, the frustratingly close games. It’s all understandably frustrating and probably magnified for the QB.
But wouldn’t you think these conversations be held behind closed doors with PC? Has that happened numerous times and RW believes nothing will continue to change? If RW has been pleading with PC for years and progress hasn’t been made, I can understand these tactical moves by RW a little more.
Honestly it seems as if RW would love Rob’s plan. I think there are two scenarios: 1. Seahawks shift resources from LB/S to O-line and D-line, Russell plays next year and evaluates the season. 2. Seahawks continue to do the same old crappy off-season and Russell might be gone before the season starts but more likely definitely next off-season.
“I think it’s his way of trying to get out of town but still trying to maintain his perfect image. It’s a little cowardly in my opinion…”
I think Wilson is a decent person, but he just doesn’t seem that genuine. And all these little leaks to the press are just making him seem even less genuine. Dude, take a look at how you played down the stretch. You’re the highest paid individual in this organization. There’s no LOB to carry you when you struggle. You’re the $35 million dollar man. It’s on your shoulders. Take a page from Pete’s playbook and “praise publicly and criticize privately”. Unhappy with things? That’s completely fine. Then drop the aw shucks image and tear into PCJS behind closed doors. Because, as Rob mentioned, fans are starting to get wise. Guys like Aaron Rodgers can get away with it because, well, he’s a much better player.
It’s clear that the team has been trying to do the right thing for Wilson the last couple of years. They aren’t always succeeding, but they are making the effort. I understand things aren’t perfect with this organization, but I think Wilson has a case of grass is greener syndrome if he thinks leaving here will yield multiple rings as a result.
My thought as well. He’s always had a polished politician type persona, but he’s reveled himself to be a real phony by trying to have his cake, and eat it too. Does he really think he can navigate trying to demand a trade and not torch his legacy in Seattle? It’s one of the other. He’s delusional, but that delusional thinking got him the success he’s had, but the reality is he’s too short to do what Brady is doing, and isn’t even on Brees’ level to be able to step in in NO, and do anything more than what Brees did that past few years. I hope some team gets as out of their minds as the Seahawks did with the Adams trade, and offers a massive, franchise altering ransom on the level of the Herschel Walker trade, and the team can move on, because this doesn’t feel like it’s going to end well with Wilson a Seahawk.
https://twitter.com/andrewperloff/status/1359163729951227906?s=21
Wow.
A 4th update coming? LOL
https://twitter.com/andrewperloff/status/1359163390384607246
I say let Russell have some input because Lord knows Carroll and Schneider have generally sucked at talent evaluation for over a half decade now. Russ has got to be as sick of those clowns drafting Malik McDowell and LJ Collier as the rest of us. He’d probably rather be handing off to Chubb over Penny, too.
And Russ pushed for the Greg Olson signing and Seattle obliged. Great job there Russell
https://twitter.com/dpshow/status/1359168945547325440
I’m not in denial, but I just don’t think a trade happens this year particularly to NO. They have so many problems and can’t even give us a replacement at QB or high pick. Its been well worn who those teams are. I am fully in the camp of Russ wants offensive scheme and roster say from Seattle.
Might I also say that I’m tired of the Russ media backchannel stuff. He manned up in the after season press conference and said he wanted a say in the OC hire. I was proud of him for that. Honesty appeared to help him win that fight. All these leaks, dismissing things to the team, and the “my agent made me do it” act just makes him look like a bitch. He’s turning into a worse Aaron Rodgers except Aaron never hides anyone for his tantrums.
Trade him to the Jets for 4 firsts and a second this year. Trade Jamal Adams for a late first this year. Penei Sewell with Jets first pick. Javonte Williams with latter first. Dip back in for Quinn Meinerz and Dwayne Eskridge or whatever defensive talent remains. Give the new starting QB a highly competent offensive, with a solid Oline developing for the future. Come back next year and use the firsts on defence. Only problem we have is at QB, but with the current carousel it seems like some half decent starter will definitely be on the market at a potentially cut price, even for 1/2 seasons. This plan changes if JS identifies the QB of the future but let’s hope he can pull off another Wilson-esk steal.
I feel like in general, this is the most disenchanted the fandom has been with Russ. You would hope that having signed a big contract and with a new OC, Russ and his media sources could be quiet for a summer while the team went about aggressively implementing a vision to improve the team. Yet every year, we are on the back foot reacting to the latest Russell Wilson commentary.
It’s become Seahawks offseason tradition to ignore Russ’s cheesy efforts to be a media star while his leakers snipe at Pete Carroll in the press. Russ was all in on the MVP and “let Russ cook” chatter last year, then quieted down in a hurry when his performance fell off the cliff. He seems incredibly hungry for personal success and recognition now, so when he gives his bland, team-first quotes, it rings incredibly hollow, because his actions certainly don’t back that up. Ending every interview with “Go Hawks” used to be a little charming thing that Russ did to show the team came first. Now it comes off like a bit of insincere, habitual branding.
I wish he would just bluntly tell JS and Pete what he wanted, then be quiet and work on his game instead of issuing these leaks every summer (of course, he might have already done this behind the scenes, who knows).
I agree 100%. I would welcome a trade. I’ve grown tired of his act.
Good to hear you on Seahawks playbook Rob!
Agreed.
Good podcast!
Pete Carroll needs to go. He refuses to adapt & evolve and this team is heading downhill quick. We are quite possibly watching the greatest QB the Seahawks have ever had get ready to walk out the door. Its unacceptable.
He’s a legend. He should always be remembered for what he has done for the Seattle Seahawks but its time to part ways. For the good of this franchise.
Agreed.
Seattle media and sections of twitter already circling the wagons to tell everyone how stupid you are for listening to these ‘rumours’.
So tiresome.
It’s embarrassing. I don’t even understand the attachment either. The same people like to criticize him for not getting the ball out fast enough or taking up too much cap.
Criticizing Russ and opining that he should be traded from the team are two very different things.
I grow pretty tired of hearing all this shit from “Wilson’s camp”.. People saying they wouldn’t mind him getting traded don’t remember Tavaris Jackson and Football jesus.. If they did trade him, im sure they would get a top first rounder and a prospect QB.. However the defense is in no way close to the 2012 defense.
Even dumping his 35 million price tag on some O line and Dline, the youth on the back end isnt the same as it was in 2012.
Even then, I would lean towards a good trade from Jamal and Russ. Try to get a top 10 pick this year and future picks. Thats how tired I am of hearing from this noise.. As Colin Cowherd says, “when you hear noise.. its not something to scoff at.”
Just a note: it’s Clipboard jesus, but whatever…
Brandon Marshall chiming in again now:
https://youtu.be/oOiDyYUcels
This interview is all over the place. A lot of his references of being on the team are outdated. Schotty 2018 is not the same guy as he was this year. He isn’t as helpless as he makes him out to be and he clearly added to the playbook. Also they have drafted more than one OL in Russ’ time. Turning them into viable players is another conversation. Also Russ doesn’t care about what anyone thinks about him? Since when? Love you B Marsh but you got to do some research.
The conversation is real and there are a lot of viable reasons for Russ to move on if he likes but the pile on of opinions has started and its annoying.
I respect Brandon but that piece was a bunch of rubbish.
Then I suggest you abandon your already preconceived position on this topic and listen to what he says.
Wilson wants out. They are philosophically opposed.
These aren’t things to brush off as rubbish.
Feels a bit shabby for RW to insist on (and get) the influence on the new OC hire – if he’s going to insist on moving on.
Re that, given that he is under contract for 3 more years, how much leverage do we think he has? Feels pretty crazy to pull a Deshauan Watson level of ‘trade me’ when your team just went 12-4.
I’m not saying it’s impossible – in fact it does feel more possible than at any time previously – a combination of his age, his willingness to exert influence, etc – but I’d still be really stunned.
Whether you think what he says is confused on certain details or not, his first sentence is all that matters to me.
He thinks Wilson is trying to move on.
And he is worth listening to.
There was a reason why I started writing and talking about this before the end of the season, relating to how the Seahawks were facing a pivotal post season.
And if it went wrong, what could follow.
We are seeing it play out now.
Do you think Shane wasn’t Russ’s choice then?
Or maybe what Russ has been hearing so far from Shane sounds like what he was originally hearing from Shotty and he’s annoyed?
I think Waldron was Carroll’s choice and that Carroll paid very careful attention to what Wilson would want when making that appointment.
If there is one thing Russ should think about, the Saints did everything to help Brees win a Super Bowl, totally ruined their salary cap and had a stacked team and still didn’t win, and now they are a mess, no qb and no cap room
They’ve also done everything to win, with a coach Wilson probably wants to play for and feels can help him reach the level he desires
yes i agree they have but they still didn’t win so it’s not automatic, unless you’re
Tom Brady of course
He should drop his salary to 25mil as long as they guarantee to spend it on offensive line
As a huge Russell Wilson fan, I was his biggest critic down the stretch of this season. He was the reason for a lot of the sacks, not the OL. Between holding the ball and missing (not seeing) wide open receivers, he was far from at his best. Maybe he should be figuring out how to elevate his play instead of pointing the finger at teammates. Start by using the whole field (and not ignoring the middle because you can’t see). And maybe take the RB check down instead of holding on to the ball waiting for a big play downfield. Brady and Rodgers get the ball out quick. In the Super Bowl, Mahomes played like Russ. Hold the ball, retreat, take big sacks.
If I had to choose between an overrated GM and a guy who once coached Jim Thorpe in comparison to a franchise QB who is a good person and still in his prime – I know who I’ll take every day of the year.
Unfortunately 2 of those guys are going nowhere, and it’s not the guys you’re hoping for.
No doubt!
RW3 is letting it fly today haahhahaha. All day long.
At this rate, Rob is gonna update his post a few times more
I found this kinda of interesting the tampa bay bucs spent 14 million on Donavon Smith there Left tackle but spends another 12 million a year on there Left guard Ali marpet we all see the protect Tom blind side . When you decide to run the ball you run it to left side remember Walter Jones and steve hutchinson . Everyone knew when Seahawks ran the ball shaun alexander it was going to left side. Just a thought
“I’m not sure…that’s a Seahawk question,” is an incredibly damaging response. The Face of the Franchise is uncertain regarding his own standing with the powers that be? If the break-up isn’t here, it’s not far off.
All this stuff flying around out there does seem to imply that Russ thinks he’s above blame for the offenses collapse last season, which I have to be honest is starting to irk me a little.
Likewise. He played like dog shit for 8 weeks! Anyways, obviously he’s a great player, but cmon man. Enough with the drama.
Exactly my thoughts Henry. Its OK to push for more talent but dont pass blame. You are a big reason for the sacks as well. We might even have continued to let you cook if you didnt start throwing it to the other team.
I respect Russ and am grateful for everything he’s done. However, trade his ass. I wish he would be a little more up front with what he wanted, like NBA players, like the one he wants to be like, Lebron. Speak it into existence. He wants superstars, the Seahawks likely are not going to give him that 2020 Buc’s style team, therefor he should move. Of course, only if the price is right. Which I have no idea what a fair trade for Russell would be but it’d be interesting if any teams would be willing to pay the price (3 first rounders? Big time players?). Exciting times
I wonder how Shane Waldron is feeling about now. He takes the job thinking he’s coaching Wilson, and ends up coaching Geno Smith.
I was just thinking the same thing I wonder if he would be like hey Pete I’m out if I don’t have Russ
I have several thoughts:
1. Obviously someone is stirring the pot on trade rumors for Wilson. Ignoring the smoke cuz you hate fire is foolish.
2. It’s awfully hard to trade someone with such a big contract plus a no-trade clause. This limits where you can trade him. Not only do you have to find a good trading partner in terms of picks, but you have to get RW’s approval.
3. Do y’all remember how rough it was with Clipboard Jesus and Tavaris, Seneca Wallace? The dark ages when it was Gelbaugh, McGwire, Stouffer, and Friesz? How we were betting on Matt Flynn to be the difference? Good QBs don’t grow on trees.
If the Seahawks trade RW, they’re in full rebuilding mode. This can’t be what PC wants this late in his coaching career, but he may not have that much of a choice. Say we get Miami’s #3 and #18, plus their first-round pick in 2022. Say they throw in Tua, so we have a “starter.” I think that’s realistically all we can expect, and that’s being optimistic.
The holes this team will still have are tremendous. We need to replace our SLB (Wright). We to replace our RCB (Griffin), our RB (Carson), our LG (Iupati), our center (Pocic), and realistically need to plan to replace our LT in a year or two. We need to plan on replacing Wagner next year, if not sooner, and we need to figure out our plans at TE.
And it’s not like there aren’t a lot of QBs on the market. With Watson, Wentz, Darnold, Garoppolo, Dak, all in the mix, buyers can be a bit picky. I could see where Russ would be the third most popular amongst GMs.
I think the key point you are missing is that this is all from the Wilson camp. Carroll’s wants and desires are irrelevant really.
The Seahawks are being challenged to essentially do what Wilson wants or else.
Totally agree, Rob, that’s why I said “he may not have that much of a choice.” PC has made his bed, and Russ doesn’t want to sleep in it. I just think that PC is too rigid to make what he considers radical changes to how he operates. Unfortunately that’s in conflict the noise Russ is making now.
I worry that the Hawks will feel like they need to cut bait now, and get hoodwinked by another organization. We need fair market value for Russ, so if we’re going to trade him, don’t wait for next year. Or, figure out what Russ really wants, and try to accommodate his wishes.
Now if the Hawks do decide to rebuild, then rebuild. Trade Russ, trade Adams, trade Reed & Wagner if you can. Start with a bevy of good picks, sign some undervalued free agents, and aim for competing in 2023.
Pretty clear Russ wants out. What would a team have to give up for the Hawks to be willing to eat a $38 mil dead cap hit? If they do trade Russ I hope they go full rebuild and move Bobby and Adam’s as well.
I’ve started watching QB’s again. That’s where we are at.
Thanks man
Maybe they can get 2 1st round picks, a 3rd round pick, and a veteran such as Brady McDougald?
Please, you’re not getting blitzing safety compensation for a lowly QB.
Bradley*
Jets / Dolphins clearly best options for Wilson and Watson. Big markets and lots of trade capital + cap space. My bet is the both end up in these markets either this year or next.
I just have this feeling, given Wilson and Mark Rodgers are being very front foot here, that he has simply decided he wants Sean Payton.
Im not disagreeing with you but he just did say how he wants to play in Seattle forever and it wasnt solicited. It was also reported he had a big hand in picking Waldron. Those together just dont add up that he now wants out right now.
So what do you honestly expect? Seriously? Do you honestly expect him to say anything other than what he has in public???
Meanwhile his agent is saying what he’s saying.
And there’s this: https://twitter.com/jfowlerespn/status/1359218700612698113?s=21
I understand why some fans don’t want to consider this topic as anything other than silly rumours. But this is a serious topic. We’ve already been over why in great detail. This has all been predictable.
While I get that Russ says what’s expected of the face of the franchise (in public), this is also the same day he said this (in public): “”I’m not sure if I’m available or not. That’s a Seahawks question.” So it’s not like he falls in-line with everything he says…
Rob, I think you are 100% spot on. If he wants out, they will end up parting ways with NO probably his landing spot. The issue is that they will have to give us what they don’t have. I think they need to come up with a top three pick this year, add there own first round pick this year, three future firsts, and A couple of day two picks. How is NO going to generate that kind of draft capital?
What a day. This team is never dull. All this noise but I still think he stays. Seattle caved twice already (Let Russ cook, Waldron hire). What’s a third time to let him have a voice on personnel? I think they make it work. Maybe it forces the trading of Bobby and Adams.
This needs to be resolved ASAP. If the issues are as serious as they appear to be we either need to get to a spot where both sides are happy or part ways. We can’t go into the season with a 35 million dollar a year QB that doesn’t want to be here. It takes up too much cap space and will cause major locker room issues. That said if Rob is correct and Russ only wants NO then there is going to have to be a lot of players and pics coming back from the Saints. The question is Russ going to be happy that the Saints gutted the roster to get him (not to mention deal with the cap).
If Schneider and Carroll blew $50 million last off-season, what makes you think $35 million (by trading Russ) will make the roster that much better?
That’s assuming your replacement for Russ at QB is on a rookie contract or it’s not nearly the $35 savings that a lot of people falsely think it is. Heck, a bum like Teddy Bridgewater costs over $20 million per year.
That is a good point on the potential savings. Also worth noting the Seahawks will take a large dead cap hit this year if Russ is traded.
I think there’s another thing to remember when talking about any Russ trades this season. We gave up next year’s first round pick which means if we trade Russ then we absolutely have to get a solid starter at QB (or perhaps a very high pick this year but even then how sold are we on the rookies behind Trev?). Not having that first rounder takes away the ability to have one bad season (planned or not) and then get an early draft pick to get a shot at a quality rookie the following draft, and if that happens then who knows how bad it all could spiral from there.
There are so many factors against Russ being traded. I just think a lot of it is Russ’s camp trying to apply pressure to John and Pete to make some better team building choices. Perhaps they see the bad combination of a declining roster (brought on by poor decisions/drafting) and a lack of accountability and they are choosing to try to create some pressure and movement on both fronts.
This is beyond just applying pressure ahead of free agency.
This is about opposing philosophies and Wilson seriously considering whether he needs to go somewhere else to achieve all he wants to achieve.
We just have to acknowledge that’s what this is I’m afraid.
Remember when Joe Montana was in his prime and made it clear he wanted to be traded away from Jerry Rice?
I thought it was because of Steve Young breathing down his neck.
I was trying to make a joke…it has only been a few months since Russell was comparing himself and DK to Montana and Rice. And now he seems to want out.
My bad….didn’t see the sarcasm.
I agree it may very well be about opposing philosophies and Russ contemplating a move etc but I think both sides see how difficult a trade would be (both to execute fairly and taking into account all of what the fallout would entail), add in that I think both camps have a number of reasons why they would prefer things to “work out” and I just don’t see a trade happening – so then Russ and co are left doing what they can to try to be a part of the team building/direction all the while laying the framework for a slightly more plausible push for a trade after the upcoming season.
I’m not sure why you assume Russ would prefer things to work out with the Seahawks. Russ wants things to work out for Russ. If he cannot achieve greatness playing Pete ball, why stay. This team offers him little more than two receivers to get that done. If Pete feels he can play Pete ball, with any joe schmoe who can hand the ball off, and make chunk throws, why pay a QB 30+ million. I think it’s quite the opposite. I think both parties are getting increasingly aware that they’re not tied to each other.
Well I think there are a few reasons. I think Russ does care about his personal image not just the on field accolades, I think he would prefer to not up root his family, his living in Bellevue, his connections to the community/his charity work etc, and I think he is also smart enough to know that any move to a new team would entail real risks that could go either way in regards to his legacy/winning/numbers.
Now this is all conjecture on my part but those are some of the reasons I see him not necessarily wanting to move on. There would be an equally sizable list (if not bigger) as to why Pete would’nt want to take the risk of moving on from Russ.
Russ can do what he does in any community. There is zero risk to his personal image by moving to another city that can benefit from his philanthropy and outreach. Uprooting a family? You do realize that they split time between New York, San Diego, and Seattle throughout the year?
“I think he is also smart enough to know that any move to a new team would entail real risks that could”
Well Russ/Seahawks are 1 for 9 in the season/champion ratio, and is winning a superbowl once in a decade really such a great legacy? You realize Tom Brady has won two MORE championships for two different coaches and teams, SINCE he last defeated THIS team?
Look at the plain and simple. This isn’t the MOST attractive place for Russ to cement his legacy.There aren’t any real ties keeping him here. There’s no reason he HAS to finish his career here over anywhere else. Every other bit of conjecture is just that. Do you forget this is a businessman who plays football…who left NC State to better his resume at Wisconsin?
“There would be an equally sizable list (if not bigger) as to why Pete wouldn’t want to take the risk of moving on from Russ.”
You don’t need a long list or a complex understanding of football to get why this move is “possible”. The coach and the QB used to be on the same page, but early playoff exists and fleeing for his life on field aren’t helping legacy/health and ability to play for 10 more years.
Just giving my own thoughts, it’s clear they do not align with yours.
Russ needs to throw the ball. Only Baker Mayfield held on to it longer at 2.7 seconds. True, Russ is tied with several others at 2.6, but all of those qbs get hit a lot. 2 tenths of a second is an eternity. The way Russ plays the game trying to extend plays he is going to get hit more than average.
I think it is time to trade him and his happy feet while we can still get value. Just my 2.
Part of that is offensive plan. Pere wants to run, run, pass deep. So sometimes Wilson has to hold it longer. Wilson said he’d like to see a more up tempo offense that will utilize quick passes. Alot of this is Pete ball and stubbornness to evolve. Wilson had to bad games and Pete used it as a reason to go back to his way. If Pete won’t compromise they need to start looking at trade options now.
Funny thing; i guarantee you if Wilson saw Rob’s offseason plan, he would likely copy it and forward it to Pete.
Wilson has not changed. He has had the same issue since entering the league. This is not a new thing. Russ throws the best deep ball in the nfl. He knows it. Everyone else does as well. Defenses have finally figured out how to beat all these small fast qbs. You play 2 high safety and you get after them with your 4 down linemen. This doesn’t just happen to Russ. We actually just saw it happen to Mahomes as well. The way you beat that. Pound the rock successfully. Boring. Unglamorous. Hard to watch at times but it opens up that play action. And I am not calling Russ out. For as often as he has been hit I would be gun-shy as well. But he is his own worst enemy and I don’t think he can or will change. Because he is Russ. And he loves to be the savior and throw loooong dimes.
Its an excuse. Russ got his guy last offseason…. Greg Olsen.
Many of the pressures/sacks are on rush as he always looks for the deep play instead of throwing it hot or short. He got shut down (just like the Chiefs did!!) when teams put 2 high safetys back and locked up DK and Lockett Deep. We do need a short game receiver (i.e., AB) but we also need a legitimate running game.
TB has a great running game. Aaron Rodgers and Packers have great running game. So do the Rams, Titans, 49ers, Baltimore, New Orleans, and most of the really good teams. Heck the Chiefs game would have been so much closer if they actually ran the ball as CEH was balling out.
So what is next..Russ holds out? Demands a trade ala D Watson? The Hawks make Russ the Asst. GM and part owner of the team? I hope this isn’t the same old boring story of an athlete who complains about money, money, money – then gets to be the highest paid player in NFL history – and now wants to blame his supporting cast and take his talents elsewhere. The best Ol in the last several decades didn’t produce one single title – see Dallas Cowboys. Being a fan this is frustrating but it is sports today – spoiled elite athletes blaming others. Having the best record of anyone in the last 9 years, SB winner, highest paid player, Supermodel/singer wife, Man of the year, and GQ cover-boy…can’t believe he has stayed this long in the god awful situation!
The best O-Line of the last several decades was the 90s Cowboys O-Line, who won 3 SBs. I’m going to guess that you’re talking about the 2010s one. In that case, you would be correct in stating they didn’t win a title. However, if you look at the teams that have won SBs, the one common thread among all of them is a high-functioning offensive line. I cannot think of a single team that won a SB with a bad offensive line in recent memory – it is a necessity in today’s NFL. It’s a false equivalency to indicate the 2010s Cowboys line as evidence that O-Lines are not all that relevant in SB teams. Those Cowboys teams died at the hands of their poor defense or lackluster play calling.
I agree and would add that this year’s playoffs as a whole were a perfect microcosm of your post. The teams with the better functioning o-line moved on in every case to my eyes(to be fair I missed a couple of games). I personally believe it’s the second most important on field aspect of a team to a QB.
Throwing my 2 sense in, it would be a steal to trade Russ for Derek Carr and a 1st. Statistically he wasn’t too far behind Russell, and he knows how to throw to a TE. I feel like Gruden just likes to light a fire under him, but if he’s serious I would pull the trigger in a heartbeat. To me Carr is the most underrated QB in the league.
Another thought is when I watched the game against the Rams it looked like the D-line got off the ball faster than the O-line. Maybe the Center has a tell, or maybe they need to change up the count before they hike the ball. Also I remember great QBs like Peyton Manning would change the protections when he saw blitzes or stunts. What I am trying to say is Russell can definitely do more to try and bring that sack # down.
I had the same thought on Carr, although I would want a little more draft capital. Either way, the thought of moving on does not scare me, and yes I suffered through the worst QB’s in franchise history. I never thought Russell would age well so are you ready for an extension past 35?
Rob, on a side note, I have read this site religiously for at least the last five years. This is my second reply, most of the time someone echoes my thoughts. Just wanted you to know that your work is appreciated!
Russ saying “Hawks for life” and his agent saying he’s unhappy perhaps is exactly how Russ wants to speak to the world, Seattle front office included. Maybe they think it worked for the Waldron hire, so their pushing again. I think Russ will definitely be in Seattle next season, and give it all he’s got with the new OC, but if it’s the same old song and dance…yikes.
The Chiefs were down three pro bowl/all-pro linemen in the SB and all I could think was “they look like the Seahawks!” Fix the o-line for the love of god.
Rob, you’re take on what’s happening in Seattle, and your earlier take on what they should do are spot on. Couldn’t agree more.
Bitterly hilarious to me you finally see the line has been not close to good enough for too long. Even Wilson is pudding and moaning about it in the media now, which surely will pisd Pete off royally.
It makes me sick to see many bash Russ, and say he’s not that good after one half of a bad year where plenty (but not all) blame can easily and rightfully be placed with Schotty and Carrol. Look, I’ve never loved Russ the person, despite his great kindness to children, which I applaud. He’s weirdly fake humble and it galls me. But he’s a top 3 qb in this league, and there’s no way Seattle lives it down if they trade him.
I’ve watched football for nearly 40 years, and I have never seen an old coach set in his ways who stops innovating, let’s his young assistants leave while propping up old pals who aren’t doing their jobs, EVER win big. They only decay. Schottenheimer, Knoll, Knox, Landry, Parcels, Jimmy Johnson, on and on…No one should ever, outside Bellicheat, stick with an aging coach showing the signs Carrol is flaunting.
Much as it makes me sick, I believe Russ gets traded if not this off-season then next.
And if that happens, I’m betting Carrol never makes it to another SB.
Just gotta say if Russ truly wanted to win a SB as his number 1 priority he wouldn’t let his ego get in the way and demand to be the highest paid to “show his value.” Such a fragile concept that results in these gigantic salaries.
TB12, the GOAT, has taken less money consistently in order to pay other players so that he can have a better roster around him and win/make it to the SB consistently.
Russ needs to step up his game if he wants to start stuff like this as he was straight trash for the end of this season. Theres no other way to put it.
Never happen. Russ wants money and resources (hence his divorce and ultimate celebrity marriage to Ciara) to become an owner after he is gone playing. That’s his number one priority. SB talk and aspirations are just that. Talk.
Call Houston and see if they will swap Watson for Wilson and Adams.
Seems fair to me.
Wilson wants out, he has thrown the O line under a bus and he’s going to spend the entire off season whining. Get rid of him now for Watson if you can JC.