With the Denver Broncos out of the Aaron Rodger sweepstakes, the Broncos made a bold move and acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks that includes five future draft picks and three players. The Broncos saw their Super Bowl 57 futures improve to +1200 odds after the Wilson trade.
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Quarterback Russell Wilson fires a pass for the Seattle Seahawks. (Image: Porter Lambert/Getty)The Broncos will trade two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round pick, plus three players: quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris.
The Seahawks will send Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Broncos to complete the trade.
In ten seasons with the Seahawks, Wilson missed just three games this season due to a fractured finger during a Monday Night Football game. Wilson underwent surgery and rushed back into action. The Seahawks caught a glimpse of life without Wilson when backup QB Geno Smith started for three games.
In 158 games with the Seahawks, Wilson completed 65% of his passes for 37,059 yards, 292 touchdowns, and only 87 interceptions. He also added 846 rushes for 4,689 yards for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. He also scored 23 rushing touchdowns, plus one receiving TD. Wilson had five seasons in which he threw 34 or more touchdowns. In 2020, he set a career-high with 40 passing touchdowns.
Wilson Wanted Out
Wilson had grown weary of the Seattle Seahawks and his agent hinted at a trade last February. Sure, Wilson and the Seahawks were a Super Bowl champion together and could’ve won two, but the team was less focused on building dynasty than cutting corners.
The front office broke up the Legion of Boom, which was one of the greatest secondaries ever assembled in the history of the NFL. They also let Marshawn Lynch leave Seattle after Beastmode once incited an earthquake on a huge run in 2010 NFC Wild Card.
Over the last decade, the Seahawks failed to retain their most talented players and let them walk in free agency. Meanwhile, the front office refused to spend big bucks to lure free agents to come to Seattle, which is one of the most beautiful cities in North America.
Wilson clashed with head coach Pete Carroll on how to run the offense. Carroll was stuck in the past with a run-first mentality, whereas Wilson wanted to embrace the future and fling the rock in the pass-happy modern NFL. The offensive line has been in shambles the last few seasons and left Wilson running for his life on multiple instances.
Without a specific game plan to improve the team, Wilson decided his time with the Seahawks had come to an end. The Seahawks agreed, and they traded him to the AFC and away from their own conference.
Wilson joins the Denver Broncos and now has to contend with a stacked AFC West that features Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs and Justin Herbert with the LA Chargers. Plus, Derek Carr from the Las Vegas Raiders is no slouch.
Broncos Super Bowl Odds Bump
The Denver Broncos finally found someone to replace Peyton Manning. Since Manning retired in 2016, the Broncos used 11 different starting quarterbacks. None of them panned out, but Wilson can finally be their quarterback for the rest of the decade.
The Broncos made several moves over the last season in order to bring Rodgers to Denver via a trade with the Green Bay Packers. That included dumping head coach Vic Fangio and hiring Nathaniel Hackett, who previously worked as the offensive coordinator of the Packers. The Broncos hoped that Hackett could help entice Rodgers to join them, but it didn’t work. After the Packers offered Rodgers the richest contract in NFL history, the Broncos went with their second option.
The Denver Broncos saw their Super Bowl 57 odds improve, while the Seattle Seahawks rook a massive dip after the Wilson trade. The Broncos jumped from +1800 odd to +1200 after the news broke about the trade. The Broncos are fifth on the NFL futures board behind co-favorites Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills at +700 odds each, the Green Bay Packers at +1000, and the defending-champion LA Rams at +1100.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks were +3500 odds last month, but the since dropped to +8000 after losing Wilson.
Seahawks Nixed Commanders
Over the weekend, the Seahawks rejected a trade offer from the Washington Commanders, who have not been shy expressing their desire to get a new quarterback.
The Commanders offered two first-round picks and one second-round picks to the Seahawks in exchange for Wilson, but they said no. There was no confirmation on whether the Seahawks rejected the offer, or if Wilson said no, or both.
The Commanders are now focusing on acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers, even though Jimmy G recently had shoulder surgery.