Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson just finished his ninth NFL Season. At 32-years-old, he’s much closer to the end than the beginning. What plans do the Seahawks have after RW3’s contract expires in two years?
The life of an NFL player isn’t very long. Certain positions don’t last as long as others. For example, running backs. By the time a running back turns 30 his career is pretty much over. Now, there are exceptions to this, Emmit Smith and Adrian Peterson come to mind.
Organizations closely monitor their current players, future available players (draft class or free agency), and potentially available players (trades). Well, my fellow 12’s I have some hard-hitting, shocking, and breaking news to report. The Seahawks are doing just this regarding current quarterback Russell Wilson.
Ok, so maybe not that shocking or hard-hitting or exclusive. But make no mistake the 32-year-old quarterback is getting closer and closer to his last days in Seattle. How or when that final day arrives is still up in the air. RW3 still has plenty of football left in him.
Hall of Fame greats like Peyton Manning and Joe Montana both finished their careers with different organizations. Might this be Russell Wilson’s fate? Also, who is the next Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback?
We can’t answer what will become of Russ as his career winds down because we can’t tell the future. But we can say there is currently no quarterback on the roster that is viewed as the heir apparent to Wilson. Seriously, no one expects Geno Smith to be in the NFL four years from now, let alone the Seahawks number one QB.
So who is next to take up the mantle? What is a succession plan? Is it even a question at this point?
Here are some of the options Seahawks General Manager John Schneider has to find the team’s next quarterback.
The cheapest route and the most difficult route is the NFL Draft. For the Seahawks to get their next great QB they’ll either have to pay a lot to move up in the draft, provided they don’t have a terrible year. Or they’ll have to hope another Russell Wilson (third round) situation happens. The latter is now more challenging than ever as QB’s continue to be overhyped and at times over-drafted.
Without a first round pick in 2021 or 2022, drafting a quarterback in the next two years will be challenging. It is possible they draft a QB with the intention of grooming him to be Wilson’s successor. Pete Carroll might hang up his clipboard before Wilson is done playing
That takes us to 2023. Which is coincidently the final year of RW3’s contract. The Seattle QB turns 35 that season. Drafting a replacement QB then will be too late.
By some miracle that a stud quarterback in his prime makes it to free agency, the Seahawks will be competing with any other team with an opening. This past offseason, 38-year-old Philip Rivers was let go by the San Diego. It was obvious his new team, the Colts didn’t get the same guy who lit up the league for years.
Peyton Manning signing with Denver in 2012 at 36 and winning a Super Bowl is super rare. So finding a franchise quarterback on the free agent market doesn’t happen very often. In when it does, the deal ends up being expensive.
The Seahawks are pretty shrewd when it comes to free agents. The only two quarterbacks who might be interesting are Josh Rosen and Dwayne Haskins. If Seattle wanted Rosen he would be on the team by now and Haskins doesn’t appear to be a good fit in the Seahawks locker room.
This brings us to our final option, trading for the next franchise QB.
As previously mentioned, franchise QB’s don’t leave their teams until possibly the end of their careers. So why would another team trade a proven successful quarterback? If they did, the deal certainly wouldn’t be cheap. Remember there are only 32 starting NFL quarterback jobs. It’s a very exclusive club.
Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston. This is not the time to make a big deal. Wilson is still in his prime. The odds on another quarterback of that caliber coming available at or near when the Seahawks need one. In other words, don’t count on a trade for an established starter.
One thing that does happen is that a backup, whose path is blocked by a veteran, gets dealt and becomes a bonafide star. Think Brett Farve going from Atlanta to Green Bay, Jimmy Garappolo from New England to San Francisco, or Matt Hasselback coming to the Seattle Seahawks from Green Bay.
Looking around the league, who is at that level? Nate Sudfeld, I don’t think so. Anyone who was a mid-round pick the last few years, Carroll and Schneider had a chance to select already.
Maybe the team’s new offensive coordinator has a line on an undervalued asset but at this point, the signs aren’t very promising.
Do you think the Seattle Seahawks have a post-Russell Wilson plan? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media?