Russell Wilson commercial rumors: Designing four possible blockbuster moves for Cowboys, Raiders, Saints, Bears

If the Houston Texans are not supposed to hear the commercial questions about star quarterback Deshaun Watson, it is a safe bet that the Seattle Seahawks will be in no hurry to receive calls about Russell Wilson. Or is it? Hours after The Athletic reported that Wilson’s relationship with his only NFL team became increasingly difficult – to the point that Wilson’s camp apparently even discussed potential commercial destinations with Seattle – the defender’s agent identified for ESPN four different teams that Wilson would be comfortable playing with in the event of a future deal: the Bears, Cowboys, Raiders and Saints.

All four are in different positions, and considering that three of them share a conference with Seattle, a possible negotiation looks far-fetched, regardless of how frustrated Wilson has been with the Seahawks. But in the off-season there have already been three exchanges of teams of high-profile signal callers – Carson Wentz, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford – and two of them were widely considered long shots to be negotiated after the 2020 campaign because of their contracts. In other words, anything can really happen when it comes to NFL QBs, or at least that’s how the free agency’s official kick-off approaches.

So let’s go crazy for a few minutes and pretend that Wilson keeps pushing buttons and, in the end, forces Seattle’s hand. Let’s pretend that the Seahawks actually accept offers from Wilson’s four favorite teams. What would they have to give up to make a deal? It is really an unknown, because there is no recent precedent for a negotiation involving a QB of Wilson caliber, but here is our attempt at some potential deals:

Bears receive:	QB Russell Wilson, fourth round of 2022
Seahawks receive:	QB Nick Foles, TE Jimmy Graham, DT Akiem Hicks, 2021 in the first round, 2022 in the first round, 2023 in the first round

Chicago is desperate for an instant and long-awaited QB solution. Acquiring Wilson would almost certainly buy General Manager Ryan Pace some new life in the Jason Licht style. The question would be especially steep within the NFC, but the Bears would have no problem releasing nearly $ 20 million by sending Bellows, Graham and Hicks out of town. The latter is the only premium asset, and even he is 31 years old, but Seattle could easily find use for Bellows and Graham (welcome home!) As provisional starters in a likely “reboot” year. The real payoff here is the trio of first-round players, who are expected to help Seattle dig up its next QB of the future by 2022.

Cowboys send Dak Prescott to Las Vegas in a three-team mega-deal

Cowboys receive:	QB Russell Wilson, third round of 2021 (Raiders)
Seahawks receive:	QB Derek Carr, 2021 in the first round (Raiders), 2022 in the first round (Cowboys), 2022 in the fourth round (Cowboys)
Raiders receive:	QB Dak Prescott, third round 2022 (Seahawks)

Holy nutcracker, this is a big problem, but bear with us. First, who in their right mind believes that Jerry Jones would refuse the chance to bring an even more proven QB superstar to the America team, especially after hesitating to arrest Dak? Second, as much as Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock praised Derek Carr, we all know that they would accept an upgrade if it were substantial, and that would allow them to fill a long-term spot without betting on the draft. Here is the net breakdown for each of the three parts:

Cowboys win: Russell Wilson, third round of 2021
Cowboys lose: Dak Prescott, 2022 in the first round, 2022 in the fourth round

Seahawks receive: Derek Carr, 2021 in the first round, 2022 in the first round, 2022 in the fourth round
Seahawks lose: Russell Wilson, third round of 2022

Raider Gain: Dak Prescott, third round of 2022
Raiders lose: Derek Carr, 2021 in the first round, 2021 in the third round

Dallas and Vegas get obvious QB upgrades, essentially each paying a first round choice, and Seattle downgrades for Carr while essentially adding the first two – whether to build around their new QB or rebuild post-Carr in the next year or two.

Raiders drop Derek Carr, first two to bring Russ to Vegas

Raiders receive:	QB Russell Wilson, third round of 2022
Seahawks receive:	QB Derek Carr, 2021 in the first round, 2022 in the first round, 2022 in the second round

This is not unlike the possibility of three teams, except without the Cowboys. Vegas still gets a big QB update by replacing Carr with Wilson, who has a big fan in Gruden and would instantly raise the Raiders’ status as contenders at AFC West. The Seahawks, for their part, would be getting a couple of firsts and skipping a round in the 2022 draft, not to mention a solid QB with a palatable contract at Carr.

The saints receive:	QB Russell Wilson, 2022 in the fourth round, 2023 in the fifth round
Seahawks receive:	QB Taysom Hill, OT Ryan Ramcyzk, DE Cameron Jordan, 2021 in the first round, 2022 in the first round, 2022 in the second round

The acquisition of the Seahawks may seem huge, as it contains three players and three choices, but consider that Seattle would hesitate to keep Wilson in the NFC, so consider that two of the three players – Hill and Jordan – may very well be the maximum victims in one or two years old. Hill is more of a pitch here, but as a one-year stop-gap for a race-based attack, it would be enough. The Saints would save $ 25 million by separating from the vets, not to mention making a seamless transition from an elite QB to an elite current one. Seattle, meanwhile, would have an instant, long-term offensive line update, a short-term elite edge rusher and lots of reconstruction capital.