The offseason drama refuses to rest.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that superstar Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has not requested a trade, but does have destinations in mind if he were to request to be dealt.
Ignore the mental gymnastics that it takes to not make a trade request while also kind of making a trade request at the same time. Schefter reported that the four teams that Wilson would be OK being traded to are the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, and Bears.
Yes, the Bears.
Wilson appears to be seeking a team that will commit to building the offensive line talent that he feels like he needs to be successful. That team can still be the Seahawks, but it appears Wilson is applying pressure to his current team before formally demanding a trade to another team.
It’s important to remember one thing regarding Wilson: the team that hypothetically trades for him won’t be taking on the full brunt of his contract from the Seahawks. He’d be getting paid roughly $23.3 million per year, which is obviously not a heavy financial burden for a team acquiring him.
It’s still unlikely that Wilson gets traded this year because Seattle would incur crippling dead cap hits unless they trade him after June 1. According to Spotrac, the Seahawks would get hit with a $39 million dead cap hit with a trade prior to June 1. If they trade him after June 1, they would have $13 million of dead cap in 2021 and $26 million in 2022.
Let’s rank the teams Russell Wilson theoretically wants to be traded to:
