3 dream trades to make the Seahawks championship contenders in 2023
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks might be a year away from being very good again – maybe – but these three trades will get them close to a Super Bowl winner.
First of all, I did say “maybe” in the opening sentence. But while Seattle seems to get a lot of hate this offseason after trading Russell Wilson and releasing Bobby Wagner, there is still a lot of young talent on the team and the team has the ability to bounce back more quickly than most other teams that make franchise-changing (i.e. trading its quarterback) moves.
To get back to being great, I am offering these three dream-trade scenarios. The last one you will not like, but all offer the chance for Seattle to be the beast again in the NFC West by next year and a championship-caliber team for the next several years beyond.
These three dream-trade scenarios for the Seahawks could make them contenders again quickly
Seahawks add guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts
Nelson might be the best offensive lineman in the NFL no matter what the position is. He has been amazingly great since his rookie year and will likely be a Hall of Famer by the end of his career. But he has a lot of his career left as he is only four seasons in. But there are several reasons the Seahawks should try and save Indy the money of extending him.
For one, Nelson is a guard. He is fantastic at everything he does, but for a team to win a Super Bowl they need tackles that can protect the outside. Trading Nelson means saving money and possibly even drafting a high-end tackle should the Seahawks offer a first-round pick in 2023 for Nelson (which they should).
Nelson would also allow Damien Lewis to flip back to the right side. Lewis was better as a right guard in his rookie season with Seattle in 2020 than he was on the left side of 2021. This could mean Seattle’s best-case scenario beyond this year would be Charles Cross at left tackle, Nelson at LG, who knows at center, Lewis at RG and Abe Lucas at right tackle. This means young talent for almost a decade along the offensive line.
Would Seattle have to find the money to extend Nelson to a massive deal? Yes. But the team is already in a great financial situation for years to come after 2022.