USA TODAY Sports
As a sense of malaise and dysfunction looms over the relationship between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, a lingering question arises as to the consequences of a potential negotiation.
If Wilson goes, who will replace him as a quarterback?
The Seahawks do not maintain a highly competent reserve in the squad, certainly due in part to the fact that Wilson never loses games. There is also a vague notion that coach Pete Carroll’s “always compete” mantra does not apply to the QB1 position. (It will be interesting to see if that changes in 2021, if Wilson stays.) So the easy answer is to say that the successor would certainly not be Geno Smith or Danny Etling from Alex McGough, the other three defenders currently on the list.
Some suggested that the Seahawks could switch Wilson only to a team that would be able to include Wilson’s replacement in the compensation package. This is a little confusing; this restricts the universe of potential destinations for Wilson and ignores the fact that the Seahawks could carry out a separate transaction to obtain Wilson’s replacement.
It won’t be as easy as it would be if, for example, the Raiders send Derek Carr to Seattle or the Saints send Taysom Hill to the Pacific Northwest, but the fact that Wilson’s new team cannot include a viable quarterback replacement option it shouldn’t kill the deal.
The Seahawks could hire a free agent, like Cam Newton or Jameis Winston or Mitch Trubisky, or Jimmy Garoppolo if he gets cut by the 49ers. They could trade for someone, like Teddy Bridgewater or Sam Darnold. They could use the draft picks they acquired in a swap for Wilson to climb and climb one of the quarterbacks in the 2021 class. (Not having your own choices in the first round in 2021 or 2022 due to Jamal Adams’ trade can make this more difficult. )
There is something else that the Seahawks could do, if they negotiated with Wilson. They could finally give Colin Kaepernick (who is only a year older than Wilson) a complete and fair workout, without being overwhelmed by the possibility of Kaepernick sharing the locker room on the question of whether he or Wilson should play. (In 2017, given the longstanding presence of veterans who resented Wilson, this was a very real possibility.)
Regardless, the inability of Wilson’s new team to give the Seahawks a quick and easy plug-and-play replacement as a defender shouldn’t be an impediment to a switch if the Seahawks really decide it’s time to move on.