Seahawks Just Opened Another Can of Worms Around Russell Wilson’s Future
Star quarterback Russell Wilson quickly made headlines this offseason by voicing his disgruntlement with the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson’s comments fueled uncertainty around his future. The Seahawks have now added another intriguing element.
Russell Wilson expresses his frustrations with the Seahawks
Shortly after Super Bowl 55, Wilson grabbed the media spotlight after voicing his frustrations with the Seahawks.
It marked the first time the star quarterback aired any public disgruntlement. His comments rang loudly throughout the rest of the league, with trade rumors quickly emerging.
Wilson’s agent further fueled the speculation by listing the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, and Dallas Cowboys as preferred landing spots.
The conversation has since cooled, but the Seahawks have added another interesting aspect.
Seahawks just opened another can of worms around Russell Wilson’s future
The conversation around Wilson’s future in Seattle has become a sidebar discussion.
However, the lingering uncertainty remains prominent in the background. Head coach Pete Carroll recently spoke about Wilson in another manner regarding his contract situation.
After the second of three rookie-minicamp practice sessions, Carroll voiced that the team has held internal talks about restructuring or re-doing the eight-time Pro Bowler’s contract.
“As always, we have all of the options available to us,” Carroll said via The News Tribune. “We have talked about all of that, as we do every year. What are our possibilities? Where do we need to go? What do we need to do, if we get to certain levels of need to stay in compliance (with the cap)?
“The money we need to come up with for another contract, we’ve done all of that. Know that we’ve looked at every, single option that’s out there—even to the point that those guys know we’ve discussed that, too.”
Seattle holds the option of converting $17.9 million of Wilson’s $19 million base salary in 2021 into bonus money. The move would spread the money evenly over the last three years of his contract, saving the team around $11.95 million against the salary cap.
The 32-year-old will make $69 million over the last three years of his four-year, $140 million deal. Although the Seahawks hold the ability to restructure his contract without Wilson’s say, it would make sense for both sides to discuss that option first.
Ultimately, the Seahawks haven’t moved forward with any contract decision because they don’t feel the need to do that just yet.
Seattle heading toward trouble after the 2021 season?
Unlike Aaron Rodgers’ situation with the Green Bay Packers, the Seahawks appear to have wiggle room.
Wilson’s agent publicly-listed four teams the star quarterback would entertain a trade, but it hasn’t moved past that point. The Seahawks remain fully committed to him, but there are clear areas of needed improvement.
Albeit he expressed his demands through the media, Wilson wants a more significant say in roster decisions. He desires an improved offensive line to have a greater opportunity to extend his career well into his 40s.
Since Wilson aired those frustrations, the Seahawks have somewhat addressed them. The front office acquired guard Gabe Jackson from the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, Seattle didn’t improve their offensive line further with top talent through this year’s draft. The front office lacked a first or third-round pick due to the Jamal Adams trade and used their second-round selection on wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge.
It wasn’t until the sixth round that they selected an offensive lineman in tackle Stone Forsythe. All of that doesn’t exactly ring tremendous confidence from Wilson, but time will tell if the Seahawks will do enough to keep their star quarterback committed.
