3 quick positives from Seahawks trading Russell Wilson to Broncos

The Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson on Tuesday to the Broncos. Butt here are some positives for Seattle from the trade.

Russell Wilson was the best quarterback in Seahawks history. Seattle will not have a player of his quality and experience to replace him in 2022. The team may not be as good next year as they would have been with Wilson as quarterback.

But maybe some things will work a bit better with Wilson gone, as sacrilegious as that sounds. Plus, maybe I am just being overly optimistic on a day that seems a bit depressing.

3 reasons the Seahawks might be better in the future with Russell Wilson gone

Lots of cap space in 2023

Moving Russell Wilson doesn’t really create that much cap space this offseason but in 2023 Seattle currently has $142 million in cap room which is enough to sign anyone they want to sign. Wilson was going to be even more expensive after 2023 because Seattle would have had to extend him and pay him mostly likely north of $40 million. 2022 might be rough but this trade was all about long-term success and Seattle is in a good position to do they should they spend wisely.

A quarterback who manages the game better

As great as Russell Wilson was in his Seahawks career, he held on to the ball way too long on third downs and tried to go deep far too many times on third and short when a 5-yard pass might have worked better. Until late in 2021 season, Seattle averaged as many points in the three games Geno Smith did this past year as when Wilson started, even before Wilson’s injury.

I am not saying at all Smith is as good as Wilson but Smith did take what opposing defenses gave as well as Wilson did. I am assuming whoever starts for Seattle in 2022 will be better than Smith so maybe the offense works a bit better simply because Seattle has a good game manager at quarterback.

A more balanced offense

Seattle’s offense was pretty good at the end of 2021. Why? Because Rashaad Penny was great. The Seahawks late-season success had little to do with Russell Wilson suddenly being amazing. Wilson was good but Penny was the best back in the NFL.

Seattle could get back to a bit more balanced offense – a Rams-style offense that works better when it’s not so pass-heavy – in 2022, especially if Penny and Chris Carson return. Seattle’s run game should be good enough to keep them in games and the defense could be better overall if the offense can maintain drives better.