Seahawks News: Drew Lock, Nick Foles, Russell Wilson, and Pro Bowl voting

Russell Wilson is gone and playing well

Seattle quarterback Geno Smith is not playing well and the offense is extremely inefficient currently. Some 12s have began commenting the opposite of what many would have said last year in that Seattle should have kept Russell Wilson. This is probably just recency bias. Wilson is playing well within the scheme of coach Sean Payton's Denver Broncos offense, but would Seattle really be better off with Wilson never leaving?

We would first have to throw out 2022 when Seattle made the playoffs and Wilson was fairly atrocious in Denver. Assuming Wilson had been the same with Seattle, and why would he have been much better, than the Seahawks would have likely been working their way through their second straight losing season and facing massive cap space issues. And Seattle benefitted from Wilson and the Broncos being bad last year.

Had Seattle not traded Wilson, the Seahawks would not currently have left tackle Charles Cross, edge rusher Boye Mafe, and cornerback Devon Witherspoon, among others. Cross, Mafe, and Witherspoon more than make up for the loss of Wilson. Plus, Seattle's cap space is much better off in the future.

Denver is currently playing at a higher level than the Seahawks, though. They have the same record but Denver has won five straight games, while Seattle has lost three of four. Wilson is fifth in quarterback rating (103.4) in the NFL, but he is 22nd in pass attempts and 21st in passing yards. Denver is winning because their defense has been playing a lot better and Payton knows how to use Wilson well. If Wilson was back in Seattle, that would clearly not be the case and Wilson likely had to go through the awfulness of 2022 to learn that he needs to listen to his coach more.