Ranking the 4 possible destinations for Russell Wilson
By Steve Risser
On Thursday, Russell Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, said that he is not demanding a trade out of Seattle, but if he was traded, he only has a list of 4 teams he would go to. Those teams are the Saints, Cowboys, Bears, and Raiders. Let’s get this straight- I don’t think Wilson is going to be traded, but in this article, I’m going to rank the 4 possible trade destinations for Russell.
1. New Orleans Saints- In 2020, the Saints had the best roster in the NFL. That won’t be the case in 2021 because they are 69.5 million over the cap and they’re going to have to cut talented players off their roster to get out of cap jail. They also would have to give the Seahawks 3 first round picks and either Marshon Lattimore, Cam Jordan or Ryan Ramczyk to have any shot at getting Wilson, so the chances of Wilson going here are highly unlikely. However, this would clearly be best spot for Wilson out of the 4 teams because the coach is clearly the best in Sean Payton and even though the Saints’ roster won’t be as good with Wilson as the QB, it will be good enough for them to be Super Bowl contenders.
2. Dallas Cowboys- Even though the Saints are the best destination for Wilson, the Cowboys are much more realistic. This might sound crazy, but say the Cowboys franchise Dak again at almost 37 million and then trade him to the Seahawks for Wilson, they would save 5 million. This is because Wilson cap hit is 32 million this year. To get this done, they’re going to have to give the Seahawks Dak and at least 2 first round picks. If Wilson was their QB next year, they would be the clear favorite to win the NFC East and even though they would not be the favorite to win NFC, they would be Super Bowl contenders because of him.
3. Chicago Bears- Wilson would obviously be a major upgrade at QB for the Bears, but even if they got Wilson, they would not be Super Bowl contenders. There are 2 reasons why they would not. One is they would have to give up 3 first round picks and they’d have to give up either Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith or even Khalil Mack to make it work. The second reason is that they probably won’t be able to sign Allen Robinson, which means Wilson would have no one to throw to. He would also have a below average offensive line and a running back that’s been inconsistent in David Montgomery.
4. Las Vegas Raiders- Just like the Bears, if Wilson was traded to the Raiders, it would obviously be an upgrade at QB, but they would not be Super Bowl contenders. The biggest reason for that is their defense was one of the worst in football last year. They were 25th in total yards allowed, 30th in total points allowed and they’re going up against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert twice a year. It’s hard for any QB to win games, if you’re giving up over 30 points. Lastly, to get Wilson, the Raiders are going to have to give up 2 first round picks and Derek Carr.
