"Good for the Seahawks"- NFL analyst believes Seattle did the right thing by letting go of Russell Wilson
After trading their former franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks are officially in rebuild mode.
Wilson led the team to its only Super Bowl victory with a 43-8 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Ironically, the Seahawks recently traded Wilson to the Broncos for a combination of multiple picks and players.
The full deal:
#Broncos get: Russell Wilson and a fourth-rounder.
#Seahawks get: 2 first-rounders and 2 second-rounders, a fifth-rounder, Drew Lock, Shelby Harris and Noah Fant.
But contrary to prior belief, NFL analyst Chris Simms believes the Seahawks did the right thing by trading the future Hall of Fame quarterback to Denver. Here's what Simms had to say to Pro Football Talk:
"So we knew that, in hindsight, there was at least a conversation and some tracks laid down as far as the parameters of the trade. Good for the Seahawks is what I say to this (and the fact that they stuck up for themselves). I think we had three different comments from ownership, the GM, and Pete Carroll, and they all said the same thing. The ownership came out and said it that Russell who wanted to change. Russell was very uncomfortable answering that question at the media press conference yesterday in Denver."
Simms continued with his statement by speaking about the way Russell Wilson handles his business off the field:
"(He gave the face of) 'Oh, yeah, it was mutual. Not really. We know that Russell is political that way. He doesn't want to hurt the fan base in Seattle. He wanted out and was telling everybody that. He had some justification in the way he wanted to play a little bit. Again, he views (himself) as one of the elite quarterbacks. He is one of those guys, but Seattle likes to play football a different way. We thought they were going to make that transition in the 2020 season. He was the MVP of football through 10 weeks."
Simms concluded his statement by speaking about how the Seahawks wanted to play football with Wilson at the helm:
"He had one or two bad games. It was like the coaching staff was like, 'Whoa, that's way too risky.' Let's go back to running the ball between the tackles on first and second down and just keep the game close. We'll let Russell make a play at the end and bring us back. That's a hard way to play quarterback. And that was the situation in his career. I understand him not wanting to be a part of that and wanting to take advantage of what he thinks of his amazing skill set."
The comments from Simms can be interpreted as believing the writing was on the wall for Wilson and the Seahawks for quite some time now. Instead of running the football, which seemed to be the gameplan for head coach Pete Carroll, Wilson wanted to let his elite passing skills speak for themselves.
He will now have the opportunity to do that for the Denver Broncos.
Will the Seattle Seahawks be able to compete for the NFC West crown in 2022?
For the first time since 2012, the Seahawks will be without the services of Russell Wilson. The team will also be without longtime defensive signal-caller Bobby Wagner.
The linebacker is the franchise leader in tackles and was the last piece of the vaunted "Legion of Boom" defense from their Super Bowl trips, culminating in one championship.
Could former #Seahawks LB and new free agent Bobby Wagner end up back in the division? https://t.co/86ElindQP7
With the team seemingly in a rebuilding phase, they may see themselves on the outside looking in for the race for the NFC West crown. The team has Jacob Eason and Drew Lock on the roster at quarterback.
Lock was acquired in the trade for Russell Wilson and has been inconsistent at best to start his career. The team may also look to re-sign veteran quarterback Geno Smith to either compete for the starting job or continue his role as a backup quarterback.
With the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Arizona Cardinals all members of the playoffs last season, it doesn't look promising for the Seahawks to win the NFC West division title.