“Russell Wilson to Tampa Bay?” NFL fans speculating Wilson’s trade as he removes the Seahawks in his profile picture on Twitter


“Russell Wilson to Tampa Bay?” NFL fans speculating Wilson’s trade as he removes the Seahawks in his profile picture on Twitter

Russell WIlson and Mike Evans

Russell Wilson has been an elite quarterback since his early days in the NFL when he led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl win in 2013. While at that time he played a secondary role to Marshawn Lynch and the Legion of Boom, his ability was clear to see.

In more recent years, with the lack of strength the Seahawks have had, Wilson has turned up his game to match the best of the best in the league. While his 2021 season was ruined by a hand injury, he still has shown an elite level of play, throwing for over 4000 yards in the two seasons prior to 2021 along with 71 touchdowns to just 18 interceptions.

Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson

What’s more impressive is that Russell Wilson is a serial winner. In every season of his NFL career until 2021, he had a winning season and made the playoffs in all of them except 2017. Along with that, he’s been to the Pro Bowl 9 out of 10 times now and has been a crucial part of the Seahawks remaining contenders in the NFC.

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Despite going 12-4 in 2020, the Seahawks lost a home wild-card game to their bitter rivals the LA Rams. The loss along with how the final few games of the season went prompted the usual “Russell Wilson isn’t happy in Seattle” narrative. Following a 7-10 2021 campaign in which Wilson went 6-8, we are once again hearing the trade talk about ‘DangeRuss’.

This time, however, there is one team in particular that may make a very strong push for the perennial Pro Bowler to ensure that they remain a contender for the years to come.

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Russell Wilson to take over the reigns from the GOAT for the Bucs?

Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson vs. the Buccaneers

Looking at this from a pure football aspect, this is one of the best matches in terms of scheme fit. Russell Wilson is known for his unbelievable accuracy on deep passes. What do the Bucs like doing? That’s right, they run a vertical scheme heavily reliant on the shot play. At 33, Wilson still has the mobility to evade pass rushers and will love to have a safety valve in the big body of Mike Evans.

On top of that, the Bucs are going to keep their core group of players going into 2022, keeping them as a strong contender. With Tom Brady gone, they just need to plug in the right quarterback to take them to another Super Bowl. Russell Wilson wants to win more Super Bowls and the Buccaneers can give him the opportunity to do so.

The problem that Tampa, and really any other team that wants Wilson, has is that he wants to be in Seattle. He wants to win with the team that brought him into the NFL and as of now seems committed to the Emerald City. Another issue is how crucial Wilson is to the Seahawks’ success.

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The Seattle Seahawks do NOT want to trade Russell Wilson

If he’s not on that team, it’s not an exaggeration to say that’s at least 5 wins thrown away right there. And Seattle knows it. They may listen to offers but actually following through on anything is a completely different story.

The Seahawks are in need of draft capital courtesy of the Jamal Adams trade in 2020. A trade for Wilson would demand at least 3 first-rounders and a player from Tampa. Now, yes they would be getting a superstar at the most important position, but that is a massive risk to give up so many crucial picks. Seattle knows what they have and they are not intent on letting Russell Wilson go anywhere, so if he were to leave, they’re gonna make it worth their time.

It’s going to take a monumental trade for the Seahawks to give up Russell Wilson and commit to a rebuild when in truth, if they handle free agency appropriately, they can be a real contender again in 2022. Anything can happen in the NFL so we can’t just rule it out because it’s unlikely, but Russell Wilson to Tampa Bay at this point in time is rather far-fetched.

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