Optimism That A Deal Between Seahawks & Russell Wilson Could Be Done In Next 48 Hours

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that there’s a belief in league circles that the Seahawks and Russell Wilson could have a long-term extension in place within the next 48 hours.

This, of course, would require Wilson and his agent to hold the negotiating window open longer than their self imposed deadline of tomorrow.

Florio surmises that the Seahawks may have sweetened their offer to Wilson after realizing that it will only cost them even more next year to lock up their starting quarterback.

It’s also worth mentioning that this is the first positive news regarding a potential long-term deal in several months, so we’ll have to see if talks pick up on Friday.

Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports reported earlier in the day that there remains a “sizable gap” between the two sides, and it would require “significant concessions” by one of them for a deal to be done by Friday morning.

According to Garafolo’s sources, the Seahawks have been offering a contract that would leave Wilson as one of the top three highest-paid quarterbacks in the league. In fact, one of Garafolo’s sources specifically mentioned that Seattle’s offers would pay Wilson more than the five-year, $103.8 million deal Cam Newton signed with the Panthers last month.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports added Seattle is offering Wilson a “very strong deal by Seahawks standards“, but this contract would be viewed as a “weak deal by top quarterback standards” based on the total guarantees included in the contract.

Should the deadline pass without a deal, it would not be surprising to see Seattle turn their attention to locking up MLB Bobby Wagner, and then use their franchise tag on Wilson in 2016.

Wilson, 26, still has one year remaining on his four-year, $2.198 million rookie contract, which includes a base salary of $798,651 for the 2015 season.

In 2014, Wilson threw for 3,475 yards while completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 849 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns over the course of 16 games.

We’ll have more regarding Wilson and a potential contract extension as the news is available.