Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has won a Super Bowl championship, been to eight Pro Bowls, and led the league in touchdown passes in 2017. But his storied 10-year run with the Seahawks appears to be coming to a close. There are fresh rumors Wilson is eyeing an exit, with the Giants, Broncos, and Saints among his potential landing spots.
Russell Wilson landing spots
This has been the most trying season of Wilson’s remarkable NFL career. He missed three games earlier in the season after significant finger surgery, and now the Seahawks are the longest of long shots to make the playoffs at 4-8.
So it came as little surprise to anyone paying attention that Wilson is open to a change of scenery. His camp floated his openness to a trade last offseason, and because he has a no-trade clause in his contract, he has a big say in where he ends up. Wilson reportedly had interest in going to the Cowboys, Raiders, Bears, or Saints last winter.
According to podcaster Jordan Schultz, his revised list no longer includes Dallas, Las Vegas, or Chicago. But the two new teams in the mix seem to fit.
Will the Giants swap out Daniel Jones for Russell Wilson?
The Giants are about to go through an organizational upheaval as significant as Seattle’s. General manager David Gettleman is reportedly on his way out, and Daniel Jones might follow him out the door — whether or not the Giants can swing a trade for Wilson.
Jones’ career is stuck in neutral in Year 3, with his team a mess and his play (10 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) a big reason why. The Giants need to decide this offseason whether to pick up his fifth-year option, which is riskier now that it’s fully guaranteed, not just in the case of injury.
Since Jones’ rookie deal is guaranteed, he would cost the same whether the Giants keep him or cut him ($8.4 million). But if New York deals him — say, to the Seahawks, who would need a bridge quarterback — they would get some relief.
The finances would be a bit tricky since the Giants are projected to be just $4.5 million under the cap and would have to absorb at least Wilson’s $19 million salary. Yet, that wouldn’t be too difficult, given the structure of some of New York’s biggest contracts.
Sean Payton would unlock the best of Russ
This year, the Saints are a bad team because their quarterback situation stinks. Their defense is legit, and head coach Sean Payton is an offensive wizard. So you have to believe the Saints would love to go from one Hall of Famer (Drew Brees) to another with just a one-year hiatus in between.
Jameis Winston is hurt and on an expiring contract. And while Taysom Hill is a lot of things, a starting-caliber NFL quarterback is not one of them. Send him back to punt protector and bring Wilson in, New Orleans.
That’s easier said than done, of course. New Orleans’ 2022 financials make the Giants look like the picture of austerity. The Saints are an astounding $59.3 million over the cap in 2022.
For Wilson to fit, the Saints would again have to play the restructure game (they’re going to anyway) and possibly trade away some of their biggest contracts.
The Denver Broncos make the most sense of any team
Denver has a talented, young roster with an elite receiver (Courtland Sutton), an excellent defense, gobs of draft picks, and all the cap space the franchise needs to absorb Wilson’s contract.
The only thing the Broncos don’t have is a quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater isn’t the answer and is a free agent after this season. Drew Lock is under team control for one more year and would be a suitable backup for Wilson.
Peyton Manning had his second act in Denver — Wilson should too. This makes way too much sense not to happen. The Broncos would be a chic Super Bowl pick with Russ.