NEWSLETTER
Russell Wilson is kind of a big deal. Seven-time Pro Bowl quarterback. A recipient of the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2020. Author of four 4,000-yard passing seasons. Owner of a career 101.7 passer rating. As you can see, trading for Wilson would be a BIG DEAL. So lets’s discuss.
• Prior to Wilson emerging onto the Bears’ trade radar, there were rumblings in some corners of the dark web wondering why any quarterback — let alone a great one like Wilson — would want to come to Chicago. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler’s explanation should shut down those folks:
Russell Wilson is a man pic.twitter.com/kVo1d4UzFW
— george (@thegeorgeyou) February 26, 2021
• “In a case like Chicago, he’s not thinking of in terms of their struggles on offense recently. He’s thinking in terms of turning around a franchise that is historically great but has had struggles on offense for the better part of 20 years. He would love that kind of story.” BOING!
• Wilson is thinking “big picture,” Fowler says. And by “big picture” Fowler says Wilson has NFL managerial aspirations. Front office? Coaching? Something we haven’t seen create yet? More than that, Russell could envision team ownership in his future. That’s BIG picture for ya! And one way to reach those lofty goals is by carving out a legacy. With all due respect to Seattle, there’s something special about winning in Chicago. Being THAT DUDE for this franchise is something different. That Wilson sees the Bears as an opportunity to carve out a legacy of his own says so much about where his head is when it comes to these trade rumors.
• It’s not a coincidence that the Bears, Raiders, Cowboys, and Saints were on Wilson’s short-list. Four iconic NFL franchises, where if you’re great, you’re a legend forever. The Raiders own the West Coast, even after their move to Vegas. Dallas is a sleeping giant franchise that everyone will love to hate again if it figures out how to put out a steady winning product like in the 1990s. The Saints are the hot team right now with a coach in Sean Payton who has carved out a space of his own in New Orleans. And then there’s the Bears, a historically great franchise that doesn’t have a historically great quarterback in its modern lore. Wilson can be that upon arrival. And within 4-5 years, he could re-write the record books. So if it wasn’t obvious before as to why Wilson would want to come to Chicago, it should be now.
• I love Adam Schefter’s honesty in his recent radio hit on the Waddle and Silvy Show on ESPN-1000. When Silvy opens the discussion trying to find an understanding as to how the Bears ended up on Wilson’s short-list, Schefter’s response is classic:
“He has the Bears on his list of teams he would be willing to go to. I don’t know why that is. Obviously, he’s not happy with the offensive line protection in Seattle. He’s not happy with the way some of the things have been done there. But he is open to going to Chicago. I didn’t help him make the list, so I can’t say why the Bears are on it and other teams aren’t. I just know that they are. And so, that if the Bears struck a deal with the Seahawks, Russell Wilson would happily accept his walking papers to the Windy City.”
• And I, for one, would happily accept Wilson’s acceptance of his walking papers to Chicago.
• This is a great point:
Even if @DangeRussWilson isn't traded this offseason, @AdamSchefter told us yesterday that he will inevitably be dealt. Wilson let the world know that he wants to play for the #Bears. So clean up the mess @ Halas & make this the best landing spot. Don't do anything stupid now!
— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) February 26, 2021
• There’s a real possibility that Wilson isn’t traded this offseason. I’m preparing for that, and the Bears should follow suit. Reality is that Seattle shouldn’t want to trade away its best player, but might be a year away from doing so if things fall apart next season. With that being said, perhaps the best move for the Bears is to build this thing into something that’s really attractive for him (or any other QB) next offseason.
• Think about what the Buccaneers did in 2019 to bring in Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles to lead their respective sides of the balls. Remember how they rebuilt that team. Consider how they took a one-year hit with Jameis Winston before turning things over to Tom Brady. This is a viable path the Bears can take. Find some pass-catchers. Invest in the offensive line. Bolster the secondary. Clean up some loose ends. And make Chicago a destination for quarterbacks.
• On the other hand, this Wilson-Seattle situation doesn’t seem fixable. And if things slip with the Seahawks next year, the team is taking on all sorts of risks. At this time next year, the QB market could be flooded with a new wave of players who aren’t available right now. And this is to say nothing if Wilson suffers an injury or declines. Maybe the Seahawks need to come to their senses, get what they can while the bidding is hot, and re-tool before rebuilding is necessary. trading a player in a more flood eight
• A panel of writers at The Athletic piece together trade offers from the Bears, Raiders, Saints, and Cowboys. Kevin Fishbain has the honor of making Chicago’s pitch, which begins with first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, a mid-round pick, cornerback Jaylon Johnson, and Nick Foles (because I suppose Seattle would want to field someone at the QB spot). I’ll admit to my biases, but that Bears offer is pretty sweet. Two first-round picks (of which Seattle doesn’t have for the next two seasons), a second-year corner who balled out before a season-ending injury, and a Super Bowl MVP. I’m sure the Bears would be willing to add more to make things work. To be totally honest, there should be no price too rich to pay here.
• This zinger from Adam Hoge (NBC Sports Chicago) hits the mark: “Bears general manager Ryan Pace should be calling Seahawks GM John Schneider every hour with a new offer until he says yes.” To which I say, why settle on every hour? And why stop at just phone calls. I’d be sending text message and Twitter DMs at all hours of the day and night. I’d pull up with an IG post and tag the Seahawks to make sure they looked at the caption. I’d option Michael to create a TikTok to send Schneider’s way. Carrier pigeon? Messenger dove? Letter in a bottle? Heck, I’d pull up to his residence with a boombox over my head looking like I came straight out of a John Hughes 80’s movie. Go get Russell Wilson by any means necessary.
• On the other side of the coin, John Clayton says trading Russell Wilson should be a no-go:
Let’s get to the bottom line on Russell Wilson:⁰⁰A Wilson trade can’t be in the cards for the Seahawks.⁰⁰I break down the numbers that show why in my latest for @710ESPNSeattle.⁰⁰https://t.co/99M9ceJxWm
— John Clayton (@JohnClaytonNFL) February 25, 2021
• Logically, there’s no reason for the Seahawks to push for a trade. Then again, the NFL is run by illogical, impulsive, reactionary figures. Logic is meaningless at this point. Because if logic prevailed in the NFL, we wouldn’t have Russell Wilson wanting out of Seattle. So, again, I’m wondering if now is the time to re-coup some assets after trading two firsts for a safety last offseason. As they say, it’s better to be a year too early than a year too late.
• I see the Director of Recruitment is at it again:
https://twitter.com/ceeflashpee84/status/1365043168857772034
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/WVBzIx8qzQ
— cordarrelle patterson (@ceeflashpee84) February 25, 2021
• And I see he’s hired some help:
@ceeflashpee84 I’m bout to start blitzing people on this recruiting shit lol
— Tarik Cohen (@TarikCohen) February 25, 2021
@DangeRussWilson you called bro ?
— Tarik Cohen (@TarikCohen) February 25, 2021
@deshaunwatson pull up gang , ion think nobody got number 4
— Tarik Cohen (@TarikCohen) February 25, 2021
