The Bears are assuming their status as one of the Russell Wilsonseriously acceptable destinations. They plan to prioritize a race against the Seahawks quarterback, notes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Wilson’s agent listed the Bears, Cowboys, Raiders and Saints as the teams for which he would agree to waive the no-trade clause. The Seahawks passer-by has made it clear that he is not happy with the current state of affairs in Seattle. For the first time, imagining the nine-year-old veteran as a defender on another team doesn’t seem stupid.
As of now, the Seahawks do not want to trade on notes from Wilson, Bob Condotta, of the Seattle Times. This would mark Seattle with a record $ 39 million in dead money to make such a deal, assuming a deal started before June 1. Wilson did not officially request a negotiation, but as this developing saga unfolded, that news would not be particularly surprising. Of course, it would take a monstrous offer to get Wilson out of the team that recruited him.
Chicago still has Nick Foles under contract, and the newsboy QB can still hover as a backup option for a Bears team that has shown the need for a defender for much of the past 30 years. The Bears were involved in the Carson Wentz and Matthew Stafford sweepstakes, being more closely linked to the first. But no offer came up, and Wentz is now a Colt. Chicago has not been closely linked to Deshaun Watson, although it looks like the team would love to be involved in these sweepstakes.
Wilson would have a lot more commercial value than Stafford or Wentz, and with the Bears not having a viable QB1 to include in a deal and holding on to general choice No. 20, making an offer that the Seahawks would consider will be difficult. Other options for Bears include signing a palliative type QB to fill the free agent Mitchell Trubiskyvacancy or writing one in the first round, adds Biggs. However, it is possible that the team needs to negotiate to get one of the first five QBs in this year’s draft.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.