With Russell Wilson declining at 34 with an albatross contract, did Broncos pull off the worst trade in the history of the NFL?
Russell Wilson just turned 34, but based on how he's been playing, Broncos fans would guess that he just turned 40.
Not even halfway through his 30s, the quarterback is in the middle of the worst season of his career in his debut with the Denver Broncos. It was horrible timing for Denver but perfect for the Seattle Seahawks, who seem to have off-loaded Wilson at the perfect time.
From Seattle's perspective, it might be the greatest trade of all-time. On the flipside, from Denver's standpoint, it could be the worst of all-time. Here's a look at the state of the struggling Broncos quarterback compared to other horrible trades in NFL history.
Russell Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick were traded by Seattle for quarterback Drew Lock, pass-rusher Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant. The Seahawks also received a first-round pick, a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick for 2022, as well as a first-round pick and a second-round pick for 2023.
29 QBs have played at least 50% of dropbacks this season:
Completion percentage leaders:
1. Geno Smith: 72.8%
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29. Russell Wilson: 58.9%
Put simply, on the scale of trades, the Broncos took out a mortgage to get Wilson. In exchange, most expected the team to be one of the most competitive teams in the AFC. Instead, Denver has faceplanted in 2022.
Through 12 weeks, Russell Wilson is 3-7 as a starter and has thrown for just eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
In comparison, Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Justin Herbert has recorded 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while Derek Carr has thrown for 18 and seven, respectively.
Russell Wilson was QB33 in Week 12.
There are 32 teams in the NFL.
Of course, the draft picks weren't the only debt the team put themselves in to get Wilson. Shortly before the start of the season, the quarterback was signed to a mega-extension. According to Spotrac, his current deal is worth almost $250 million and runs through the 2028 season.
The team has to wait until 2026 at a minimum to cut Wilson and be able to save money.
This means the team will be stuck with Russell Wilson for several more years, just to get back to the position they were in before making the trade earlier this year. Before the trade, the team was already perennially under .500, illustrating just how big of a hole they have dug for themselves.
This begs the question: how does the Wilson acquisition compare to other such trades in NFL history?
How does the Russell Wilson Denver Broncos trade compare to other bad trades in NFL history?
While John Elway and Brett Favre were terrible trades for the teams trading them away, it was great for the teams receiving the quarterbacks.
There have been no similar circumstances of teams trading the farm directly for a signal caller on the scale the Broncos did to bring in Russell Wilson. That said, there have been some bad acquisitions since 2000 that are honorable mentions.
According to Yardbarker, running back Trent Richardson was acquired in 2013 for a first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts. Richardson struggled and was cut after the 2014 season.
Antonio Brown was acquired by the Oakland Raiders for a third- and fifth-round pick in 2019. However, the receiver never ended up playing a down for the team, being released during training camp.
The Houston Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson, a second-round pick and a swap of fourth-round picks in 2020. Johnson failed to hit 700 yards with the team in his first season and by 2022, he was on another team.
Of course, other trades to make moves in the draft to get a quarterback have flamed out numerous times in NFL history. However, these trades don't exactly stack up because the trade wasn't directly for the signal caller in most circumstances. It was for a pick to get the quarterback.
This meant the trade could have had decent value for the opportunity, but the decision to draft the quarterback was lacking. The expensive trade ups for Trey Lance and Mitchell Trubisky fit this criteria and are comparable to some.
However, even they were making only a fraction of what Russell Wilson is making. Lance and Trubisky were cheap enough to bench or at least build around.
Wilson doesn't have that caveat. As such, looking at the history of bad trades, he seems to top the list as the worst trade in NFL history.
Of course, there is still time for him to turn it around. With a new coach and some free agents added to the offense, it could look much more competent next season. However, until the tape is made, Wilson will continue to sit at the bottom of leaderboards across the sport.