Getty The Russell Wilson trade rumors are not going anywhere.
The Seattle Seahawks recently reaffirmed their relationship status with Russell Wilson, but the trade rumors will continue to follow the team into next season. With Aaron Rodgers becoming the latest disgruntled NFL quarterback, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported an NFL executive floated the idea of the Packers and Seahawks swapping their unhappy franchise cornerstones.
“Now here’s a complete wild card in Seattle,” Fowler recently explained on SportsCenter, via Bleacher Report. “Now, we know [Aaron Rodgers] is not going to the 49ers; let’s stay in the NFC West. One exec I talked to floated Seattle, just because John Schneider, the GM, has long-standing ties in Green Bay, and it’s clear he’s been unafraid to talk about Russell Wilson’s future with other teams as a potential trade. He talked to Cleveland a few years ago, has flirted with draft picks. Things were tenuous a few months ago; he talked to the Bears.”
As Heavy detailed earlier, the idea of the Seahawks swapping Wilson for Rodgers is likely unappealing to the Seattle front office. Overall, Wilson represents a younger and cheaper option than the Packers quarterback.
Rodgers’ $14.7 million salary is considerably lower than Wilson’s $19 million in 2021. However, Rodgers’ deal has a sharp increase to $25 million annually for 2022 and 2023. Comparatively, Wilson is set to make $19 million and $22 million over these same two seasons.
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Carroll on Wilson Rumors: ‘I Knew the Truth Was, We Weren’t Trading Russell’
Prior to the draft, the Seahawks made their first public comments on Wilson’s offseason media tour along with the numerous trade rumors. As expected, the Seahawks emphasized they have no plans to trade Wilson. Seahawks general manager John Schneider denied the idea that the team engaged in active trade negotiations involving Wilson, while Pete Carroll added the team plans on Wilson, “being here for a good while.”
“Russ has been our quarterback for a good while, and we’ve got a long contract with him,” Carroll noted in the Seahawks pre-draft press conference. “And when all of the conversation went about trades and all that, I knew what the truth was, we weren’t trading Russell. So, we plan on him being here for a good while. I don’t know how many years it is now, but we’re in great shape. A long future ahead of us is shared. Russ knows that, and I know that. We’re very clear about it. It’s why it was really obvious that we just had to sit back and let the media take its course with the topic. So, we did and so we’re in good shape and both very clear about that.”
The Seahawks Have Reportedly ‘Smoothed Some Things Out’ with Wilson
The idea that the Seahawks would trade Wilson only makes sense if the quarterback hits the nuclear button by demanding a trade. This would be more in line with what Deshaun Watson is doing with the Texans, a much bolder step than simply having your agent float teams where Wilson would okay a potential trade.
Fowler added in his report that the Seahawks appear to have “smoothed some things out” with Wilson. This makes a Rodgers for Wilson swap a fun hypothetical scenario, but not a realistic option unless the Seahawks quarterback becomes more forceful with his displeasure.
“And so, really anything can be on the table with this sort of team that’s a wild card,” Fowler continued. “Now, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are in a much better place; they’ve smoothed some things out. Pete Carroll and Russel Wilson have talked. They’ve gotten some good free-agency pickups and draft capital, so Wilson’s happy right now. But would there be a better player-for-player swap than Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers? Probably not.”