Seattle Seahawks insider Michael-Shawn Dugar expects major changes this offseason, potentially including Russell Wilson.
Dugar covers the Seahawks for The Athletic, so he would know.
Seattle entered the season with expectations to contend in a four-team race for the NFC West. Sure, they play in the toughest division in football, but aren’t the Seahawks talented enough to at least snag a Wild Card spot as currently constructed?
Well, part of that is the issue. This team as currently constructed hasn’t been healthy most of the year. Add in a few mistimed decisions from general manager John Schneider, and the looming trade rumors around quarterback Russell Wilson, and it’s bound to be an interesting offseason for the Seahawks.
Seahawks: What’s the answer in Seattle?
Schneider helped constructed a Super Bowl champion, something the Seahawks didn’t have up until that point. He’ll get a free beer in Seattle as long as he lives. But, that Super Bowl came in 2014. Despite having the same cast of Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll, the Seahawks haven’t once reached that pinnacle since, losing to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
The longtime general manager is under contract through 2027 — which is a lot of job security — so he’s not going anywhere. Carroll is 70 years old, and retirement isn’t in the distant future. After a down year, could he step away from the NFL entirely, a Seattle legend?
Wilson is a more complicated case. He’s arguably the best quarterback in the franchise’s recent history. Wilson’s contract runs through 2023, but if the Seahawks expect to lose him, they ought to trade him with a few years remaining on his deal rather than next offseason, as to get the most value for him.
But that’s a depressing way to think. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and without Wilson, what are the Seahawks? Are they that much better, or worse, than 5-9?