The Chicago Bears never had a 4,000-yard quarterback or 30 touchdown passes in one season, the only franchise in the NFL to have this dubious feat. It is not for nothing that they plan to make a big effort for Russell Wilson if he is available.
Chicago won’t stop for nothing to put Wilson in a Seattle Seahawks exchange. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears have prioritized making a race at Wilson – since Chicago is one of four teams that Wilson would prefer to negotiate if Seattle were to negotiate it. New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders are the other teams that Wilson prefers to trade with – but Chicago is the franchise that most desperately needs a quarterback out of the four.
New Orleans (currently) has Drew Brees – who has not announced his retirement – but the Saints have a significant amount of wage cap space to clean up. The Cowboys are trying to reach a long-term deal with Dak Prescott, but they can enter the draw if negotiations fail. The Raiders showed support for Derek Carr, who they hired. That leaves Chicago as the franchise that could pay a king’s ransom to get Wilson out of Seattle.
Wilson reportedly said he would like to stay in Seattle, but is frustrated by the number of bags he has supported throughout his career. He has been fired 394 times in his first nine seasons, the highest number of defenders since 1970 (Randall Cunningham is second with 366). Despite all the hits, Wilson has the second highest number of passing touchdowns (267) during the nine-year race – behind only Peyton Manning. He also has the fifth highest pass score (33,946) and the second highest passer score (101.7).
The 32-year-old is coming out of an excellent season, completing 68.8% of his passes for 4,212 yards and 40 touchdowns for just 13 interceptions for a score of 105.1 passes. The Pro Bowl seven-time selection won a Super Bowl in just its second season with the Seahawks.
Wilson will have a high price in the trade market, but getting a franchise quarterback for several seasons is worth it – especially for a team desperate for a star quarterback like Chicago.