What Would a Russell Wilson Trade Mean for the Seattle Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson deny that he’s on the trading block. 

But that doesn’t mean he won’t be shipped somewhere else before training camp opens in July. there are still four and a half months separating the beginning of the 2021 NFL Season at the time of this writing. 

And just 2 weeks before the new league year opens. 

A lot can happen between then and now. And if the Seattle Seahawks posed a decent return on your futures wager in 2020, they’re in obvious consideration among NFC West teams in 2021. 

We know what the Seahawks can do with Russell Wilson. 


But when would a futures bet look like without one of their longest-tenured players?

Today’s post poses a few scenarios. 

1 – What Can the Seahawks Get for Russell Wilson?

Russell Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks in football. Meaning the Seattle Seahawks can demand a king’s ransom from other NFL teams if they trade him. They say Wilson has a list of 4 teams, including the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and New Orleans Saints. 

By looking at these tams, the Seahawks have a few decent trading partners. 

Let’s look at the Dallas Cowboys, for example. 

The Seahawks could ask for Dak Prescott and a first-round pick for Wilson, if not more. The Cowboys would probably make the Seahawks a more dangerous futures wager for 2021 OR 2022 if they became trading partners for Wilson. 

Ditto for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders have the league’s most underrated and talented passers in Derek Carr. The Seahawks could easily swap Wilson for Carr, and leave it at that. While Carr hasn’t put together a winning season since 2016, he has a much more talented roster in Seattle. 

The Bears would be a longshot, given their quarterback situation. However, Mitchell Trubisky is far better than he looks. Besides his rookie season, he has always posted a winning record. Plus, given the system Pete Carroll and the Seahawks love to run, it would conform to Trubisky’s skill-set. 

You could expect Trubisky to have a career renaissance in Seattle if the Seahawks traded for Trubisky. Obviously, they would ask for more than just Trubisky. But then again, it would help the Seahawks in terms of draft capital or even a marquee player or two to send Wilson to Chicago. 

The Saints are the iffiest. No one is trading for Drew Brees at this point in the 42-year-old quarterback’s career. If he comes back at all. Plus, the Saints don’t have the best draft capital, rendering them an unlikely trade partner. 

If a trade with the Saints were to happen, the San Francisco 49ers or Los Angeles Rams become better futures bets. 

2 – The Seahawks Went as Far as Russell Wilson Takes Them

This is another thing to consider: The Seahawks’ roster isn’t the strongest. It’s better than it was in recent seasons. But there are at least a dozen other NFL rosters that are more formidable. Even worse, 2 are in their own division, with a third a marquee player or two away from passing them. 

Take Wilson out of the equation, and the Seahawks could be in trouble. Sure, they’ll be fine if they trade for Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, or even Mitchell Trubisky. But if they traded with the Saints, either save your money or bet elsewhere. 

Unless you think someone like Kyle Trask is a viable replacement. 

Then again, let’s go back to the 2012 NFL Draft when no one thought highly of Wilson. Though many scouting reports admitted he’d have been a 2nd-round-pick at worst, if not right up there with Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin. 

So maybe the Seahawks are seeing something we’re not seeing if they traded Wilson for draft capital and maybe Taysom Hill. Then again, I wouldn’t bet anything on a team going into the season with Taysom Hill as their quarterback unless they had a talented roster. 

The Seahawks are better, but they’ve still gone as far as Wilson could take them. Hill won’t take them as far, and he would have to rely on the strength of the surrounding roster. 

3 – Who Are the Seahawks Without Russell Wilson?

Without Wilson, who are the Seattle Seahawks?

Let’s rephrase that question: Without Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks are supposed to look like…what?

Per Pete Carroll, they’re a run-first, pass later offense. 

Remember the ‘Let Russ Cook’ Movement in 2020?

Yeah, that’s what it stemmed from. Wilson tried to cook. Only Carroll let someone else become the executive chef in Seattle. Which explains Wilson’s fury toward the team. It’s why he reportedly stormed out of a meeting halfway through the season. 


Russ wants to cook, but Carroll won’t let him. 

Therefore, if the Seahawks do what’s becoming more and more thinkable and trade Wilson, what can we expect the team to turn into?

Let’s use Carroll’s hint: Look for a team based around a running back committee, using the ground game to open the pass. They also have physical receivers. Especially DK Metcalf. Expect underneath passing, a lot of running, ball control, and clock management. 

Sort of like the offense they ran during the early stages of Wilson’s career. If you’re thinking Cleveland Browns or Minnesota Vikings, you’re on the right track. Therefore, a gadget quarterback could easily come in and take over. 

Is that quarterback Taysom Hill?

It could be. But going from Wilson to Hill is a steep drop. And old-school Seattle fans may have to relieve the “glory” days of Dan McGwire, Rick Mirer, Trent Dilfer, and other names that will send chills down their spines. 

What about Trubisky?

The soon-to-be ex-Chicago Bear would thrive. You look at Trubisky, and you wonder what he’d do with a team that owned a solid ground game and allowed the horizontal passing game to develop. He’d become a decent player prop bet.

We don’t need to give Dak Prescott an introduction. Sure, he had a gruesome ankle injury. But I think Alex Smith proved just about every doubter wrong coming back from his own injury after 2 seasons of rehab. 

Derek Carr would be a steal in a trade with an ex-division rival (Seahawks played in the AFC West from 1977 to 2001, kids). Carr has played for an average team. And per the usual, Jon Gruden is displaying his perpetual mediocrity. Yeah, he won the Super Bowl back in 2002, with Tony Dungy’s Tampa-2 defense. 

The point is, Carr would thrive in a gadget role with the Seahawks. So if the Cowboys or in this case the Raiders become trading partners, it’s still smart to at least consider betting on the Seahawks. 

4 – Can the Seahawks Succeed Without Russell Wilson?

To rephrase the subheading: Are the Seattle Seahawks adequate futures bet without Russell Wilson.

It depends, really, on who they end up trading for if a trade were to happen. I personally would say they’re at least worth considering, along with consideration for the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in terms of the Over/Under and winning the NFC West. 

As long as they trade for someone like Prescott, Carr, or even Trubisky. If they pull off a trade and draft a rookie, it grows murky. Not that they’re a bad NFL team to bet on. They’re still worth considering, but the odds just grew against them. 

Or, if they swapped with the Saints and ended up with someone like Taysom Hill. Hill proved in 2020 that he could win football games, but he didn’t play flawless football. 

Then, there is always the possibility they could trade for a quarterback. And there are a few decent backups who will draw interest, like Marcus Mariota, who is Derek Carr’s backup in Vegas. Two first-round picks plus Mariota would make sense.

From a conservative standpoint, chances are the Seahawks will try for a Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff trade. Don’t expect a Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts type of trade. The Eagles had a guy in Jalen Hurts they want to test out. And it makes sense with a new coach. 

The Seahawks don’t have that luxury. So swapping Wilson for Prescott or Wilson for Carr makes so much more sense, not just to the Seahawks, but to the Cowboys or Raiders. Expect the Seahawks to remain a decent option if the trade follows up with a decent quarterback. 

If not, expect the 49ers or Rams, or even the Arizona Cardinals, to step to the forefront. 

Conclusion

The Seattle Seahawks could still be a solid futures bet if they trade Russell Wilson. However, they may also see longer odds if they trade with a team that doesn’t give them a quarterback in return. If the Seahawks can even get a gadget quarterback, it will go a long way for them.

But if they can get someone like Carr or Prescott in return, the Seattle Seahawks will once again become a popular futures bet. Even without Russell Wilson. 

Do you think the Seahawks will remain a decent bet without Wilson? Let us know in the comments. We are looking forward to reading your opinion on the matter, or even whether the Seahawks will trade Wilson.