Seahawks GM John Schneider can give up this pipe dream of a trade after recent rumor

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has said this offseason that he is not proud of the fact that the team has only drafted two quarterbacks since 2010. To be fair, one of those quarterbacks was Russell Wilson in 2012 and he would turn into an immediate starter who would not miss a game for almost a decade. Wilson was one of the best draft picks in Seattle history.

But as Schneider has the final roster decisions for the first time since he came to the team - former head coach Pete Carroll used to be in charge of the roster, but he is, well...gone now. Schneider, a person who helped make the decision to take Wilson but also worked for the Green Bay Packers when Green Bay took Aaron Rodgers, might be champing at the proverbial bit to take a quarterback he can claim to be his own choice. He might even want to trade up to do that.

As most pundits seemingly expect a run on quarterbacks early in the draft, Schneider might need to move up to take the quarterback he really wants. The teams that hold the first three picks in the draft - the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots - all need quarterbacks so are unlikely to trade back, unless they trade back among themselves for some weird reason. The Arizona Cardinals hold the fourth pick and Schneider could entertain a trade with them, even though the Cardinals are an NFC West rival.

Seattle Seahawks would have to give up a lot in order to make a trade up with the Arizona Cardinals

Would Seattle and Arizona pull off a trade of such magnitude? Why not? As long as both sides think they could mutually benefit from the deal. The issue is that according to Armando Salguero of OutKick.com, the Cardinals want as much as three first-round picks back in a trade for their fourth overall choice in the 2024 draft. That means Seattle would not only have to give up their number 16 pick this year but conceivably the team's first-round choice in 2025 and 2026.

John Schneider would really have to love a quarterback in order to make that swap as well as being so sure of his choice that he would stake his career with the Seahawks on it. Should Schneider's pick become an abject failure, the Seahawks would be sunk for years. By the end of 2025, Schneider could be fired.

Or, if Schneider were to make the trade and the choice is a success, Seattle could be closer to making another Super Bowl run. Those are the kinds of bets one has to hedge in the NFL. Hopefully, however, the Cardinals' rumored asking price is simply too much for John Schneider to even think about.

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