Russell Wilson would have many suitors if Seattle agrees to trade him, but which landing spots stick out as being the best for the signal-caller?
Russell Wilson wants to explore his options this offseason, and I would think that Seattle would trade him if he really wanted to leave.
Wilson revived that franchise, and if he wants to try a different team, I would think Seattle would send him where he’d want to go.
If Russ does indeed become available, he’d have a plethora of teams bidding for his services.
There is a quality quarterback shortage in the NFL, so teams would be willing to part with valuable draft capital and players to acquire a quarterback of Wilson’s caliber.
I’ve seen talks of people saying Wilson is on the decline; they cite his poor play from the back half of 2020 as a season, but I find it hard to believe that a mid-30s future Hall of Fame quarterback is on the decline.
With that being said, which teams present the best landing spots for Russell Wilson for 2022 and beyond?
Best landing spots for Russell Wilson in 2022: New York Giants
Wilson would apparently be interested in waiving his no-trade clause for the New York Giants, and that makes some sense.
New York has a sound defense and above-average weapons on offense. It’s also in New York, which is clearly not Seattle. I think Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara would enjoy the celebrity location of New York, and would also be in a very winnable NFC East division.
It remains to be seen if Seattle would be OK with trading Wilson within the conference, but perhaps they’d be interested in New York’s two top 10 draft picks in the upcoming draft and a Daniel Jones who is still on his rookie deal.
Even though I am a Broncos fan, I can see pretty clearly that New York would make a lot of sense from Wilson’s camp.
While I would not hate if he ended up as a Bronco, New York is calling his name louder.
Best landing spots for Russell Wilson in 2022: Indianapolis Colts
The Colts being able to land Russell Wilson in a trade would be a giant shift in the NFL landscape.
The Colts went 9-8 with an efficient Carson Wentz this season. While Wentz’s numbers look good, he often was not able to come through when it mattered the most, like a week 18 letdown against the Jaguars.
In Indianapolis, Wilson would have something he hasn’t had recently in Seattle: a good offensive line. The Colts’ offensive line is among the NFL’s best, featuring studs in Ryan Kelly, Quenton Nelson, and Braden Smith.
Eric Fisher and Mark Glowinski are free agents, but I’d expect Indy to retain one of them.
Wilson would also enjoy a very winnable division and would get to play in warmer weather, perhaps something he’d enjoy.
Frank Reich is a good, offensive head coach, and I’d expect he’d get to open up his offense more with Wilson under center.
Wilson is a terrific deep-ball thrower, and Indy has a stud receiver in Michael Pittman, who excels at 50/50 balls.
Seattle sending Wilson to the Colts for 2022, which is out of the conference, makes a ton of sense.
Best landing spots for Russell Wilson in 2022: Denver Broncos
Even putting my Denver Broncos fandom aside, Russell Wilson in Denver makes a lot of sense.
Denver has better weapons, a better offensive line, and a better defense than most teams in the market for quarterbacks.
Denver’s offensive line is among the NFL’s “average” but it’s plenty good enough to work with an elite quarterback.
Their weapons feature one of the best receiver rooms in the NFL with Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Jerry Jeudy, an athletic tight end in Noah Fant, and a powerful running back in Javonte Williams.
Denver seems to have everything Wilson would desire in an offense. With new head coach Nathaniel Hackett, Russell Wilson would get the opportunity to work in a Shanahan-style offense.
All signs point to Denver being one of the hottest teams to land a significant quarterback upgrade. They really do have nearly everything in place. Their defense finished 3rd in PPG allowed in 2021, and the one unit that is holding the team back is their offense.
Russell Wilson would not have to relocate too far either. Denver and Seattle are reasonably close, so perhaps the geography comes into play for him and his family as well.