© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
It’s fine. Everything seems to be completely fine in Seattle. No reason for Seahawks fans to start sweating. There’s no way they’d let Russell Wilson leave, right? Well, suddenly it’s not all certain that he stays.
There’s been an evident tension brewing after Wilson came out publicly to complain about being hit and sacked too many times, effectively putting the blame on the Seahawks for not protecting him better, and rarely investing in the offensive line.
On Wednesday, that simmer became a boil. After a report from The Athletic that Wilson’s camp had approached the Seahawks about a potential trade, Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers responded. He told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Wilson hasn’t demanded a trade, yet… but released a list of four trade destinations: the Cowboys, Saints, Bears and Raiders. Wilson has a no-trade clause in his contract.
Seahawks’ QB Russell Wilson has not demanded a trade, his agent Mark Rodgers told ESPN. Wilson has told the Seahawks he wants to play in Seattle but, if a trade were considered, the only teams he would go to are the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, Bears.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 25, 2021
Nothing like a, “I’m definitely not leaving, but if I were to leave, here are the four places I would go,” statement to really pour cold water on the situation. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler then reported that NFL executives believe the Seahawks will make Wilson available in trade discussions.
Russell Wilson does not expect to be traded as of now, and Seattle has not approached Wilson with any potential deals, sources say. But multiple league execs believe Seattle will eventually make Wilson available because of brewing tension. This will get nothing but interesting.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 25, 2021
If Wilson is traded, the Seahawks would eat $39 million in a 2021 dead cap hit, pushing them more than $2 million over the salary cap, per OverTheCap. If that trade happened after June 1, they would only have a $13 million dead cap hit in 2021 and a $26 million dead cap hit in 2022. He’d become a bargain for whoever acquired him.
Not impossible. But it would take some juggling… And the #Seahawks would need to replace him. https://t.co/K6IdiNFP07
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 25, 2021
