Fox Sports 1 host Colin Cowherd made waves this week with a segment discussing potential trade rumors involving quarterback Russell Wilson and the New York Giants. Cowherd listed reasons a trade makes sense, such as the Giants’ need of a star quarterback and Wilson’s wife Ciara’s desire to live in the Big Apple.
While Cowherd’s piece is strictly conjecture at this point, it certainly got the NFL world talking, including speculating on what the Seahawks could get in return from New York. However, no matter what is discussed, there is only one true conclusion: There is nothing the Giants could give the Seahawks that would make trading Wilson worthwhile.
Not only is Wilson a franchise quarterback, but he is also among the very best in the NFL. Even Cowherd has repeatedly said he considers Wilson to be a Hall of Fame player. Franchise quarterbacks are hard enough to find, and quarterbacks as good as Wilson are even rarer.
Assuming the Seahawks were to net a few high draft picks in a trade, the first thing they would do is select a quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Seahawks have taken plenty of risks under John Schneider and Pete Carroll, but trading away a great quarterback only to draft an unproven rookie feels like gambling away life savings on a simple game of blackjack.
One of the biggest reasons why the Seahawks returned to the playoffs last season and avoided a true rebuilding year was the high play of Wilson. In fact, amid all the doom and gloom of last offseason’s predictions for the Seahawks, the only glimmer of hope was Wilson.
Trading away Wilson, no matter the potential return, would be a colossal, franchise-altering mistake for the Seahawks.
