Seattle Seahawks to Trade Russell Wilson to AFC Team
Russell Wilson will play for a new NFL team in 2022. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to trade Wilson to the Denver Broncos. This comes on the heels of the Broncos rumored to be interested in trading for Aaron Rodgers before he agreed to a four-year, $200 million deal with the Green Bay Packers.
Schefter also said that Broncos general manager George Paton began trade talks with Seattle for Wilson at least two weeks ago. It's been reported that Broncos quarterback Drew Lock is part of the deal. Earlier this year, Wilson, who has been the Seahawks quarterback since the 2012 season, said he wanted to keep his options open when it comes to his future. Last week, Seahawks coach Pete Caroll spoke to reporters and indicated the team was going to trade Wilson.
"At this time of year, there's conversations about everybody," Carroll said per CBS Sports. "We talk about everybody, and that's commonplace for us to have conversations with teams about all the players, particularly marquee players. And that's not changed. It's been the same every year we've been here. We have no intention of making any moves there, but the conversations, John has to field those, he always has, but nothing specific."
Wilson, 33, was selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the NFL draft from Wisconsin in 2012. In his second season, Wilson led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win over his new team, the Broncos. In his third season, Wilson led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl again, but the team lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Wilson had the Seahawks to the postseason every year in his career except for 2017 and 2021. This past season, Wilson posted a 6-8 record as the starting QB, and the team finished the season 7-10, their first losing season since Wilson became the starter.
The Broncos get a superstar quarterback and are in the mix to be playing in next year's Super Bowl. The last time the Broncos made the playoffs was in 2015 when Peyton Manning helped Denver win its third Super Bowl in franchise history. The Broncos also have a new head coach in Nathaniel Hackett who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Packers.