The Seattle Seahawks need to rebuild for 2022. One of the moves might be trading Russell Wilson. Does moving Wilson to the Dolphins make sense? Yes. But only with caveats.
Russell Wilson has had an odd season. He has thrown for 22 touchdown passes and just 5 interceptions in 13 games. His quarterback rating is 102.5 which is the fourth-best in the NFL among quarterbacks with 162 or more pass attempts. These are good numbers.
But Wilson’s completion percentage of 65.2 is his lowest since 2017. He is making far fewer impact plays with his legs and scrambling around and making magical plays out of nothing has always been an important part of Wilson’s game. His 3 carries a game is by far the lowest of his career as is his 13.7 yards rushing per game.
A Russell Wilson trade to the Dolphins shouldn’t be out of the question
So one of the questions the Seahawks will have to ask this offseason is if Russell Wilson has lost a step. If he has, is it because of age and taking too many hits over his career? Or is Wilson running less and being less accurate simply a by-product of a bad offensive design?
Wilson is still a franchise-quarterback and lots of teams would like to have a quarterback like him. So if Seattle is looking to make drastic moves this offseason and one of those moves includes trading Russell Wilson, then why not try to trade him to the Miami Dolphins?
Why a trade of Russell Wilson to Dolphins makes sense
A straight-up trade for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would be stupid. Wilson is a much better quarterback than Tagovailoa. But Tagovailoa is also going to be just 24 years old when the 2022 season begins and might still be learning what it is like to be an NFL quarterback.
He is only in his second year and has at least two more years under contract (as a former first-round choice, whoever Tagovailoa is playing for heading into his fifth season could pick up his fifth-year option).
Tagovailoa is probably not going to put up 5,000 passing yards in a season but he does know how to win games. His record in the NFL is 12-8 but it is really 12-7 as a starter because he has a loss for a week two game this year where he was injured and left after throwing just four passes. The Dolphins are 6-6 the last two years when he doesn’t start and really 5-7 when Tagovailoa doesn’t play most of a game.
But the Seahawks shouldn’t just get a quarterback who is 9 years and a few months younger than Wilson in the trade. The Dolphins have a first round pick in 2022 but two first rounds choices in 2023. They are two fourth round picks in 2022 and they have a young and talented defense.
Plus, Miami is a mecca for the entertainment industry so one would not think it would be out of the question for Wilson and his wife, Ciara, to want to play in Miami. And Miami has an excellent defense and Wilson would not have to win games on his own.
Basically, there are a lot of good options for Seattle if they do trade Wilson to Miami. Here is how a trade could work out.
So what should the Seahawks try to get back for Russell Wilson?
There is a difference between the Dolphins and Seahawks in 2022 and that is Miami has a good enough defense to win lots of games and needs to win before rookie contracts start expiring. Seattle is trying to sustain what they have but trying to build more towards extending their decade-long success into the next several years.
Seattle is getting old and Miami is young and just a step or two away from being really good. Russell Wilson could make them really good. But draft picks and roster pieces from Miami could help Seattle extend their success for several years. Tagovailoa isn’t Russell Wilson but he is good enough to help Seattle win games with the top-end offensive talent the Seahawks currently have.
For Miami to give up two first round picks for a 33-year-old quarterback plus their current starting quarterback is a lot to ask. But the Dolphins haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1974. Adding Wilson while giving up the first round picks isn’t too much, however. Plus, Miami still seems to be weighing whether Tagovailoa is a true long-term starter.
But this trade wouldn’t be the last gasp of an attempt to win another Super Bowl for Miami either. They would still have another first round choice in 2023 even if they trade one to Seattle. But for Seattle, Tagovailoa would – at worst – give the Seahawks a starter for a couple of seasons while Seattle gets back the first round pick they lost in the Jamal Adams-from-Jets trade and adds another first-rounder in 2023.
Again, this trade gives Miami an upgrade at quarterback but also allows Seattle to have a solid starting quarterback to pair with D.K. Metcalf (a must re-sign to a long-term contract after 2022) and Tyler Lockett. Tagovailoa would have the best weapons he has played with in Seattle and Wilson would have a much better defense to allow his offense to be on the field longer.
One thing of note here: Tagovailoa is a left-handed quarterback which means the right side of the offensive line would be more important than the left due to the blind-side for Tagovailoa would be on the right. But Gabe Jackson has been the best part of the Seattle line this year (I realize that isn’t saying much) and should be solid for the next two years. Finding a good right tackle would be very important, though, but Seattle might need to find a left tackle too in 2022 anyway (Duane Brown is a free agent).
This trade would help Seattle re-build their 2022 draft but would also allow the Seahawks to get a player who supplies interior pressure from the defensive line and has lots of good years left. Christian Wilkins is signed through 2022 (the end of his rookie contract) so Seattle would have to pay him only $4.912 million next year.
In 2021, Wilkins has 3.5 sacks but 12 quarterback hits and 9 tackles for loss. Al Woods currently leads the 2021 Seahawks defensive tackles with 5 quarterback hits and 4 tackles for loss.
This trade gives the Dolphins more draft picks, a starter at quarterback and a very good defensive piece while giving the Dolphins a quarterback who makes them immediately better and also gives them a third round choice. That could be a win-win for both teams.