With the talk of a Julio Jones trade potentially happening after June 1, there’s another player who could still be traded — and whose trade would result in a much more manageable cap charge — as of next Wednesday.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, if traded today, would prompt a $39 million cap acceleration. As of June 2, the 2021 cap cost would drop to a mere $13 million.
Sure, coach Pete Carroll downplayed Wilson’s discontent as “old news” (not fake news) last week with Rich Eisen. And Carroll was more right than he intended to be in using that term. Wilson’s dissatisfaction didn’t emerge when he first shared it with Dan Patrick just a few days after the Super Bowl. This one has been building for a long time.
Indeed, while the notion that Wilson is currently playing on his last contract has been characterized earlier this morning as new news, we’ve been saying virtually from the day that Wilson signed his current contract with the Seahawks in 2019 that there won’t be another one.
The Russell Wilson wildfire has burned down to coals, but it’s still smoldering. It can reignite at any time. Even if Wilson internalizes his frustration and embraces his situation for 2021 (as he apparently will), this one isn’t going anywhere. By next year or the year after, the Seahawks likely will send Wilson to a team that will build its offense around him, and that will pay him close to $50 million per year.
Which means that, if a team is lurking for June 2 with an offer the Seahawks can’t refuse, a trade could still happen this offseason. What if (rank speculation alert) the Raiders offer Derek Carr, two first-round picks, and more? Would the Seahawks say no, knowing that they’re probably looking at one or two more years with Wilson?
One thing I’ve learned in 20 years of covering this sport every day is that anything can and will happen. Who, for example, saw the 49ers jumping from No. 12 to No. 3 before it occurred?
That’s not to say anything is coming with Wilson. However, it’s impossible to rule it out, either. Especially with a plummeting of the cap consequences only nine days away.
Cap charge for a Russell Wilson trade plummets next week originally appeared on Pro Football Talk