Russell Wilson moves to the Broncos in one of the largest trades in modern NFL history after 10 seasons with the Seahawks; Sky Sports’ Cameron Hogwood explores what this means for both teams and the rest of the NFL.
One Super Bowl ring, two Super Bowl visits, eight playoff trips, nine Pro Bowl nods, countless rainbow ball clinics, the Let Russ Cook campaign, the Mr. Unlimited tour later, and the Russell Wilson era in Seattle was over.
After all, and perhaps unexpectedly, it was Wilson, whose freelance “nothing to something” heroism had recently lost a bit of championship luster, and whose frustration crept into a public “let’s overreact” last offseason when he expressed his desire to have more influence on decision-making behind the scenes. Try to find a long-term employee who doesn’t want to talk anymore!
While the Denver Broncos failed to catch Aaron Rodgers, they managed to ambush news of his not-quite-final Green Bay Packers rodeo by pulling the trigger of their back-up plan. It will be a blockbuster for Wilson, sending quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defenseman Shelby Harris and a host of draft picks in the opposite direction.
Sounds like a deal, because that’s probably what it was. For the entire NFL, it’s come to know about the spoiled lottery “would he, wouldn’t he?” In the drafting process and a pretty meh Seattle production, the Broncos came out unscathed as they caught a piece of the puzzle that fit perfectly into their alpha team of offensive artists.
If not Wilson, Seattle’s subsequent release of 10-year veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, the only remaining member of the 2014 team to lose to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, served to confirm that the team had broken the band-aid to a new start to the franchise.
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Carroll’s indecision to, sorry, “let Russ cook” in favor of his attack on the rock was only resisted when it was too late. He and Seattle have been eager to turn the corner, appointing west coast ball-relaxing hero Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator last year in the hope that it will finally change the lingering wrinkles of Brian Schottenheimer and Darrell Bevell forever. .
The promise faltered, though, and between the plan, a debilitating finger injury, and Wilson’s unwillingness to sharpen the midfield, the prospect of a major change evaporated.
Seattle was right to compare their situation to that of the defending champion Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West and conclude that another Super Bowl campaign looked unlikely in Wilson’s last two contract years.
However, the Seahawks offense was far from the wet squib it was portrayed as, as Wilson overcame injury to lead a team that was still ranked seventh in the DVOA (above-average defensive-adjusted value) despite the league’s trend of two deep covers, which put the brakes on this deep-shot mower, which he is always eager to tune.
