Bears Reportedly Prioritizing Trade For Russell Wilson

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that the thinking among multiple sources right now is that the Bears are prioritizing making a run at a trade for Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

This comes after Wilson’s agent included the Bears among the four teams his client would be willing to play for, which is notable considering that the rift between Wilson and the Seahawks.

Wilson has a no-trade clause that would allow him to direct a trade to one of these four teams, assuming Seattle is seriously open to the possibility of moving him this offseason.

Recent reports have said that while the Seahawks are not shopping Wilson around to teams, they are at least answering calls about him at this time. Even so, many around the league seem to doubt Seattle would trade Wilson this year, especially when you factor in the cap ramifications.

The other teams Wilson would be interested in playing include the Saints, Cowboys and Raiders. However, New Orleans has a tough cap situation while Dallas and Las Vegas have thrown support behind their quarterbacks — Dak Prescott and Derek Carr.

As for the Bears, Biggs mentions that the Bears will face some cap issues of their own. Although, they do have some avenues to create additional cap space by restructuring the contracts of a few notable players and possibly signing others to extensions such as CB Kyle Fuller.

A third of the NFL has reportedly reached out to the Seahawks to gauge what it would cost to trade for Wilson, with three first-round picks generally seen as the starting point. 

There are obvious issues with a potential Wilson trade including the fact that Seattle would incur a cap hit of around $39 million this year, which would be by far the largest cap hit a team has ever taken in NFL history. 

We took a look here at how the logistics of a Wilson trade could work out if the Seahawks decide things have gotten to a point where they have to trade Wilson this year. 

Wilson, 32, is a former third-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2012. He was entering the final year of his five-year, $89.142 million contract when the Seahawks signed him to a four-year, $140 million extension that included a $65 million signing bonus. 

Wilson stands to make a base salary of $21 million for the 2021 season. 

In 2020, Wilson appeared in all 16 games for the Seahawks and completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 4,212 yards, 40 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

We’ll have more on the Seahawks and Wilson as the news is available.