Seahawks trade 9-time Pro-Bowler to Denver for draft picks and players.

After a year of playing with an uncertain future in Seattle, quarterback Russell Wilson ends his 10-year career with the Seattle Seahawks. On Mar 8, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Seahawks were trading Wilson to the Denver Broncos, for a package of picks and players, in what Schefter called “one of the biggest trades in NFL history.”

Denver sends two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, and three players: quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, and defensive lineman Shelby Harris, according to Schefter. Denver also receives Seattle’s fourth-round pick in the draft to go with Wilson. The sought-after quarterback agreed to waive his no-trade clause, which would have let him decline a trade to a different team, should he not want it. 

The trade launches Denver into conversation as a Super Bowl contender, according to Caesars Sportsbook. The Denver Broncos’ odds to win the Super Bowl jumped from 25-1 before the trade to 14-1 after. That puts only five teams above them: the Buffalo Bills at 15-2, Kansas City Chiefs at 8-1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 10-1, the Green Bay Packers at 11-1, and the defending Super Bowl Champions Los Angeles Rams at 13-1, as of Mar 16. The San Francisco 49ers are tied with the Broncos at 14-1.

The trade came less than a week after Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said the team had no intention of trading the 9-time Pro-Bowler. When asked about Wilson on Mar 2, Carroll denied the rumors. “It’s commonplace for us to have to have conversations with teams about all of the players, particularly marquee players, and that’s not changed. It’s been the same every year we’ve been here, so it’s the same as it’s been. We have no intention of making any move there. But the conversations, [General Manager] John [Schneider] has to field those, he always has, but nothing specific to that.” However, this was not the case, with Wilson being traded six days after the quote. 

Wilson was targeted by other teams, including the quarterback-needy Washington Commanders, who were not able to close a deal with Seattle. According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, Washington offered three first-round picks, but the Seahawks preferred to trade Wilson out of the NFC, which both teams are in. Washington ended up trading for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz the next day, for a significantly smaller haul of draft picks: a 2022 second-round pick, a 2022 third-round pick, and a conditional 2023 third-round pick, in exchange for Wentz, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2022 seventh-round pick. 

The trade ends an era for Seattle, with Wilson being quarterback for eight playoff appearances in the past ten seasons, including two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl win. Wilson, along with 6-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, who was released the same day of the Wilson trade, were the last remaining players from the Seahawks’ 2013 team that beat the Broncos in Super Bowl 48. Wilson will also become the first quarterback in NFL history to start for a team he beat in a Super Bowl, according to Schefter.