Seahawks Nearly Traded Legend for Number One Pick: Report

The Seattle Seahawks parted ways with their greatest quarterback in franchise history this offseason, trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. However, the Seahawks nearly made a move that would have sent the Super Bowl champion to a different team in the AFC years earlier.

Brady Henderson, ESPN.com’s Seahawks beat writer, shared some insight into what happened to cause Wilson to want to leave and seek a trade to play for a new team. According to Henderson, the Seahawks nearly pulled the trigger and shipped off Wilson back in 2018 to a different AFC team.

“The Seahawks, according to someone in Wilson’s camp and the Seahawks’ front office, called the Cleveland Browns before the 2018 draft to discuss a trade that would have swapped Wilson for the No. 1 overall pick,” Henderson said. “Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, found out. The Browns weren’t interested, but Seattle’s flirtation motivated Rodgers to secure a no-trade clause when he negotiated Wilson’s four-year, $140 million extension the following April.”

With all of the offseason speculation surrounding the Seahawks potentially trading for Baker Mayfield, it seems fitting that the team nearly traded for the pick that the Browns used to draft the former Heisman Trophy winner.

Revisiting Russell Wilson’s Seahawks Career

He may no longer be the quarterback for the Seahawks, but Wilson’s tenure in Seattle will go down as the greatest run in franchise history. Considering where he started, that’s an incredible feat.

After a successful college career at both North Carolina State and Wisconsin, Wilson declared for the 2012 NFL Draft. Because of his smaller stature, Wilson fell in the draft, but the Seahawks picked him up with the 75th overall pick in the third round.

Wilson turned out to be arguably the biggest steal of the draft almost immediately. The rookie started all 16 games in his first season, leading the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth while throwing for 26 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.

Since then, Wilson established himself as one of the most exciting quarterbacks in football. During his 10 seasons with the Seahawks, Wilson posted a 104-53-1 record, was named a 9-time Pro Bowler, was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020, and helped lead Seattle to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Things started to go downhill by the end of Wilson’s time in Seattle, however. After offseason speculation that Wilson had requested a trade in 2021, the Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017, with Wilson going just 6-8 as the team’s starter.

It may not have ended on the highest note, but Wilson’s impact on the Seahawks and the city of Seattle will be felt for decades.

Who Will Be Seattle’s Starting QB in 2022?

Losing Wilson is a huge blow to Seattle’s offense, but someone will still need to play quarterback for the Seahawks between Drew Lock and Geno Smith.

Smith has been announced as the starting QB in Week 1 in a clash against Wilson and the Denver Broncos. As the backup to Wilson since 2018, Smith finally got his chance to play last season while the superstar QB dealt with a finger injury. Smith shined in limited action, posting a 103.0 passer rating with five touchdowns and one interception in four games played.

Despite Smith starting Week 1, Lock will have a chance to start under center at some point this season. Lock was slated to start one of the team’s preseason games to see how he could handle running the starting offense, but the QB competition took an unexpected turn when he tested positive for COVID-19.

If Smith gets off to a rocky start, expect head coach Pete Carroll to quickly pull the veteran quarterback and give Lock a chance to prove himself.