Despite the best efforts of Chicago Bears fans to move on, it appears the vortex that is the Russell Wilson trade rumors still have them trapped in its grip. It felt like things were finally at an end when Ian Rapoport and others revealed the Seattle Seahawks had declined their offer for the star quarterback. One that included three 1st round picks, a 3rd round pick, and two unnamed players.
Yet Adam Schefter refused to let the rumors fade away. He stated on ESPN with a firm conviction that he doesn’t believe the Wilson saga is over yet. The reason Seattle declined the trade wasn’t that they were unwilling to do it. This was more about the lack of a desirable replacement. The Seahawks had incomplete data on the upcoming NFL draft class or the trade market for other possible options such as Sam Darnold.
So they turned the Bears away.
Could their stance change close to the draft? Schefter thinks so. He’s not the only one either. Prominent insider Jeff Darlington appeared on the Ryan Russilo Podcast recently to discuss the state of the quarterback moves around the NFL. Unlike many people, he doesn’t blame Chicago for what happened. He blames Wilson. Not only that, he made it clear he believes the 32-year old quarterback still isn’t likely to play for Seattle this season.
“I don’t fully believe Russell Wilson plays in Seattle in 2021. People want to blame Seattle. People want to blame Chicago. I also sort of lean to the side that we’re not putting enough attention on Russell Wilson either here. This is the guy who basically came out and said, ‘I’ll go to these four teams.’ He sort of started this.
People get on Ryan Pace or Matt Nagy in Chicago. They didn’t say we want Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson put the Bears on his list. A lot of people have been coming after Chicago and…I still just believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
When you start naming teams that you’re willing to play for, you’re one foot out the door. Very rarely in the NFL as recently as Tom Brady, when someone puts one foot out the door, they don’t usually come back in.”
Remember that Darlington was the one who stated the situation behind the scenes in Seattle is very similar to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in New England. However, the key difference is the Seahawks don’t have Robert Kraft who acted as a mediator between those two, keeping them focused on the bigger picture. That is why the situation could continue to fester.
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Russell Wilson and the Seahawks’ silence isn’t helping matters.
Has the quarterback openly declared his intentions to return? No. Has the team declared their intentions to keep him? No. This is a big reason why prominent insiders remain convinced the saga isn’t over yet. Look at what happened with Aaron Rodgers last year. He called his future a “beautiful mystery” following the 2019 season. The Green Bay Packers swiftly responded to rumors that there was no way they were trading their superstar QB.
Seattle has not done this with Russell Wilson. It’s been crickets for weeks. This is why the Bears may still have a shot. None of their moves to this point suggest they can’t take a second crack at landing the seven-time Pro Bowler. Not even the signing of Andy Dalton. His deal is for one year at $10 million. He could easily be flipped back to Seattle in a deal post-June 1st.
The tricky part would be finding the cap space.
Chicago is still tight against the salary cap this offseason. A key reason why the team hasn’t made any significant moves to upgrade their roster. They’ve already sacrificed Kyle Fuller due to cap problems. One can safely assume they’d need to make more if Wilson became a possibility. Of course, fans would probably be more than happy to accept them if they knew a future Hall of Fame QB was coming to town.
