On Monday, the Denver Broncos released Super Bowl-winning QB Russell Wilson in an unprecedented move. The 2020 NFL Walter Payton Man-of-the-Year winner and nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback can immediately sign with any team when next week’s league year begins.
Wilson has the luxury of picking a contending team and sign for the veteran minimum since Denver is on the hook for more than $30 Million. This could be a perfect scenario for Poles. The minimum salary for Wilson would only be $1.21 Million.
This would be a highly controversial move by Ryan Poles, but several factors come into play here. Several rookie QBs improved their stock in last week’s Scouting Combine, particularly Bo Nix and JJ McCarthy.
Poles has only five picks in the 2024 draft after trading a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for OL Ryan Bates. Bates was signed by Poles to a 4-year offer sheet two years ago, but Buffalo matched the offer. The move leaves the Bears with only five picks in next month’s draft.
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By trading Justin Fields and the number one overall selection in ’24, Poles can stockpile draft picks in the first three rounds of this year’s draft and add draft capital for 2025.
Having Nix or McCarthy sit behind Willson for a year or two could pave the way for stellar QB play for the next decade. Poles can stockpile offensive talents like MHJ, Odunze, or Nabers at WR, Bowers at TE, and Powers Johnson at center.
Russell Wilson can still play in the NFL. Bringing him to Chicago to help the Bears win while mentoring a QB like Nix or McCarthy could be the way to get the QB position right for years to come.
Franchise Tag Deadline is Today
Unless the Bears announce a contract extension for Jaylon Johnson in the next few hours, they must use the franchise tag for the Pro Bowl CB. Once the franchise tag is in place, Poles can still negotiate with Johnson and his agent through the middle of July to sign Johnson to a much-deserved contract.
keep J Fields, trade the #1 and stock this roster with a C, WR, DE, TE, S, and see if the roster upgrade and S Waldron can take J Fields to a top 10 QB capable of winning a SB in 24-25. The simple fact is in the next Draft and the 25 Draft there will be at least 3 or 4 QBs the media and evaluators will proclaim as SB winning material. Ewers, Manning, etc. all coming over the next 2 drafts…. guaranteed to be proclaimed as ‘generational’ QBs!
Some know I had brought this up in the past. I’m a Russ guy. Been following since he was with my badgers and still to this day he has been the best quarterback to go there (not saying a ton there because we are known as RB university). But still the reason I brought it up was due to the league minimum that we would be paying for a veteran Super Bowl champion. Yes we hear all the rumors about him but we also hear rumors about Caleb that get debunked all the time now. But for the cost of… Read more »
All you need to do is ask Waldron what he thinks of the Wilson idea. If Wilson can keep the seat warm for 1 year then it might work. And I don’t understand why Nix and McCarthy are floated vs anyone else. If you can have him sit at least a half year, I think Maye would be a good choice. I think Nix, Williams, Penix, and Daniels have a good enough floor to start sooner and I think McCarthy is a 3rd rounder due to inaccurate passing. I worry about all these modern college QB’s being able to “step… Read more »
Just from the context of self-preservation and career suicide, Ryan Poles is not going to do this. If you trade #1 again, and you go the route of Wilson paired with a lower-tiered QB, you better just pack your bags. This is why this scenario is the least plausible of the scenarios I have heard for trading #1. Yes, we lost a 5th round pick. Or we gained a better player than we could have got in the 5th round, so he is your draft pick. You’re going to get picks with the Fields trade as well. The Bears are… Read more »
@David: I don’t think Poles struck out on Stroud. First off, Stroud was asked at the combine what he thought about going to Chicago, and his reply was, “No, that’s Justin’s team.” So taking him last draft would have alienated Stroud himself, and alienated the rest of the team, who have been very supportive of Fields. Bad way to start a new year. Further, we’ve had one year of data on Stroud. He could be the next Carson Wentz, flash of brilliance to start his career, rocky afterwards. He also had a nearly perfect storm of good coaching, the support… Read more »