John Bazemore/Associated Press
This may be a shot in the dark, but it’s possible that Russell Wilson could be on the move sooner than later.
Betting outlets are removing Russell Wilson futures bets/odds left and right.
Those are only removed when moves are imminent.
Something is happening.
— Ryan Heckman (@RyanHeckmanFS) March 11, 2021
It’s now an open secret that online sportsbooks have removed futures bets regarding the next team that Wilson will play for. This is something oddsmakers do when they receive insider information. We saw something similar to this set with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt. The futures odds for both Wentz and Watt were taken down a day prior to their official transaction… so is a Wilson trade going down?
It’s tough to say if a trade is going down, however, the buzz around Wilson and Bears has been at an all-time high, especially after the Cowboys extended their franchise QB, Dak Prescott. Although no trade has been formally requested, per his agent Mark Rodgers, the only teams Wilson had on his shortlist were the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears. It’s safe to say that Dallas is ruled out following Prescott’s extension and the Raiders couldn’t be happier with Derek Carr at quarterback. That leaves the Saints and Bears, but I’m going to go with the latter of the two as New Orleans faces uncertainty in an uphill battle with cap space issues.
On top of that, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that Wilson “likes that they [the Bears] have an emerging offensive line, a good solid offensive-minded coach in Matt Nagy, and they have an intriguing market in Chicago.”
Ted S. Warren/Associated Press
The Bears are beyond desperate to find a true franchise quarterback. “There is a real sense of panic in that building,” an NFL executive told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. “Don’t underestimate how desperate they are.”
With Wilson and Deshaun Watson atop the list of top disgruntled quarterbacks, Chicago appears willing to part with a “boatload” of draft picks in order to land either one of these quarterbacks, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. The difference is that the Texans seem unwilling to even answer phone calls from teams inquiring about Watson and the Seahawks doing quite the opposite.
Seattle isn’t shopping its franchise quarterback, however, the team is listening to offers from teams that covet the eight-time pro bowler, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.
Meanwhile, It’s worth noting that the interest is certainly mutual between Wilson and the Bears as the eight-year veteran would happily accept a trade to the Windy City.
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
“If the Bears struck a deal with the Seahawks Russell Wilson would happily accept his walking papers to the Windy City,” Schefter told the Waddle and Silvy Show.
Obviously, the asking price for acquiring a player of Wilson’s caliber is far from cheap. In fact, teams around the league believe the asking price for the Super Bowl XLVIII champ will be at least three first-round picks. It would be an interesting deal to take place in order for Seattle to move their franchise quarterback as a Wilson trade would require the Seahawks to take $39 million of dead money onto their cap, however, waiting to process a trade until after June 1 would allow them to push $26 million of it into the 2022 season.