Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks.
Slowly but surely, 12’s are seeing more offensive creativity from the Seattle Seahawks and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. What changed, and why did it take so long? Those are good questions. If you asked head coach Pete Carroll, he’d point to Russell Wilson’s injury and the move to back up Geno Smith as a reason why. And how the offense had to get comfortable with the new system. Which are valid points.
Except for one minor detail. Wilson played in six games since his return. One more than he played in before the injury. So, why didn’t we see this play creativity at the beginning of the year? Why are we seeing it at the end of the year? Russ has had all offseason, from OTA’s to training camp and preseason, to get comfortable in the offense. Now, 14 weeks into the season, with Russ being out for three of them, he finally understands the offense?
It takes time to learn. Everyone learns differently and at a different pace. However, I’m just not buying that narrative. Maybe it has more to do with an effective running game. OR maybe it has something to do with the report coming out about Russ being willing to waive his no-trade clause for a few specific teams.
Fans can believe Wilson all they want when he says he wants to stay in Seattle for the next 20-years. He DID at one time. Back when he was drafted and leading the team to multiple Super Bowls.
Reports like the one previously mentioned and the one after last year’s Super Bowl (if I was to be traded, these are the teams I’d choose) don’t come from people on the street. The latter story was delivered to the media by Wilson’s agent.
His agent won’t make up a trade list then tell the press about it in-season. No, that kind of tactic is used during the players’ contract negotiations or in the offseason.
There’s also the fact an agent won’t do something to hurt the brand/reputation of his client (unless he’s an idiot). So, for Wilson’s agent to release that information, he had to have Russ’ approval.
This also leads to Wilson’s narrative when asked about the report “It wasn’t me.” Ah, the classic Shaggy defense from the pop song in the early 2000s. In other words, plausible deniability.
Yes, Russ, we all know it wasn’t you who actually said the words. However, most of us aren’t morons. It’s not hard to figure out that you had a part in that report coming out. Just like you have a hand in the latest report about waiving your no-trade clause for specific teams. “It wasn’t me.” Same story, same process, different day.
So, why now has the Seattle Seahawks offense shown more creativity? Because Wilson is unhappy again and wants out. He threw a tantrum last offseason about wanting a bigger voice in selecting the new offensive coordinator. Russ got his wish but did he get HIS guy?
Shane Waldron comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree. McVay’s offenses utilize a strong running game paired with presnap motion and mainly three-wide receiver sets. This year his offense is back to more of its original design. The McVay offense also utilizes a lot of routes that set up the receivers nicely to gain yards after the catch. I didn’t see a lot of that in the Seattle Seahawks offense.
That is until the calendar turned to December, when things started to change. They would have continued into Los Angeles this week, but the Seahawks were slowed down by a combination of a dominating defense and COVID-19.
Let’s circle back to the main question. Why is the offense showing some creativity all of a sudden? I believe there’s a divorce on the horizon for Wilson and the Seahawks. This is Pete Carroll’s last-ditch effort to appease his star quarterback and have him finish out his contract in the Emerald City.
Wilson’s contract has an opt-out for the 2022 season. If RW3 exercises the clause, he becomes a free agent. From there, Wilson will choose where he wants to play next. Teams will line up to sign Wilson and give him their best offer. But at 34 years old will he get the $77M he’s due to earn for the next two seasons on his current deal? Wilson would be making a huge bet on himself, but he’s let it ride in the past.
As an added bonus of him leaving, the Seattle Seahawks get stuck with a $26M dead money cap hit.
I previously wrote about how Seahawk fans need to get comfortable with the idea of Wilson not playing in Seattle next year. I’m not saying Wilson will be gone after this year. I don’t know, and I’m not in his camp. What I do know is that from an optics point of view, Wilson’s time in Seattle is coming to an end. The Seattle Seahawks roster has many holes to fill. From offensive line to defensive line to corners. The team doesn’t have enough draft capital or salary cap space to fix all of their issues.
Now, it is possible that GM John Schneider hits a home run in the draft and can spend, both smartly and wisely, in free agency to fix all of the holes on the roster this offseason. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Left tackles and corners are expensive and hard to acquire. The ones that show up on the free-agent market are there for a reason. Subsequently, the ones drafted take some time to develop.
Finally, all this is to say that Russ will have a decision to make at the end of the year, whenever that may be. As a run to the playoffs is shockingly still an option. It requires the Seattle Seahawks to win their remaining four games and get an insane amount of help and luck.
So, when the season ends, everyone will turn their attention to Russ and everything he does. It will be “Russell Watch!” Where his actions or subsequent lack of any actions will tell everyone what he’s going to do and where he’ll be playing football in 2022.
Do you think the Seattle Seahawks have done enough to keep Russell Wilson? Let us know in the comments section below.