The Chicago Bears and Russell Wilson became connected earlier this month when the quarterback’s agent dropped a bombshell. Not only was the seven-time Pro Bowler open to being traded from Seattle, he even had four specific teams in mind he’d like to go to if the Seahawks were interested. One of those teams was the Bears. This inevitably kicked off a firestorm of speculation. Could Chicago somehow pull off such a miracle?
After almost two weeks of waiting, reports finally surfaced. Despite some positive momentum, head coach Pete Carroll put a stop to any possible trade between the two teams. It wasn’t happening. That was it. Just a couple of hours later, the Bears came to terms with quarterback Andy Dalton on a one-year deal. With that, another dream died.
Or so everybody thought.
The first person to come out publicly and say the Wilson situation wasn’t over was Adam Schefter. He made it clear that things didn’t just magically get better between the quarterback and the Seahawks brass. A trade is still quite possible. It comes down to whether Seattle can find a quarterback they’d be comfortable with moving forward in the event they did trade Wilson. Fellow ESPN insider Jeff Darlington has since echoed the same thing.
This is where Bill Zimmerman comes in. The SB Nation rep has proven to have solid connections to the Bears regarding some inside information. He had interesting updates on his Bears Banter podcast. One was that Chicago has pursued Wilson far longer than people realize. All the way to January before the Super Bowl. Not only that, but he is pretty confident the window isn’t closed on a trade happening.
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“So the word that was used to me about the Russell Wilson situation with the Chicago Bears was ‘tabled.’ The conversation was tabled. It was not ended and if you hear (Adam) Schefter, Schefter keeps dropping a couple of sticks into the campfire to make sure that flame keeps going and the smoke keeps kind of trickling out there. This was not the Seahawks going, ‘We’re not interested.’ This was the Seahawks going, ‘We can’t do this now.'”
"It points me more toward he won't be on the roster in 2021."
–@JeffDarlington provided an angle we did NOT see coming to the Russell Wilson saga with the #Seahawks:#NFL #NFLFreeAgency #NFLDraft @RyanDLeaf pic.twitter.com/qsL1UFZHC3
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 24, 2021
Russell Wilson closure likely to come by the NFL draft
This is the real deadline people should watch. If Seattle has designs on a new quarterback, it will be then. Maybe it’s a 1st round rookie they want. Maybe it’s Sam Darnold who could be on the block shortly. There is also the fact Chicago could up their offer to four 1st round picks instead of three. Something that is only allowed on the first day of the draft.
If it doesn’t happen then? Then it isn’t going to happen. Plenty of people still refuse to buy the rumors that it’s really that bad up in Seattle. Sure the relationship could be testy but not enough to break up a good thing. One that has produced the playoffs nearly every season. Not to mention a pair of Super Bowl trips and a Lombardi trophy. Are the egos involved that big?
Apparently. The ongoing silence between the two sides says a lot.
No statement from Russell Wilson that he plans to play for them in 2021. No statement from the Seahawks that they’re keeping him. It’s been a dead zone in terms of communication. This might explain why the Bears still feel they have a chance and have kept their options open. If they started this thing in January and persisted this long, it’s obvious they are determined to keep pressing until told no.