NFL Trade Rumors: Is Seahawks QB Russell Wilson on his way out of Seattle?

There have been stories circulating in the press that Russell Wilson could be set to breeze on the windy city of Seattle. The Seahawks franchise quarterback spoke candidly in a recent interview, expressing his growing frustrations with the number of times he has been getting hit, as well as his desire to become more involved with Seattle's personnel choices.

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NFL Trade Rumors: What has Russell Wilson said about his situation with the Seahawks?

Seattle Seahawks v San Francisco 49ers

"Like any player, you never want to get hit. That's the reality of playing this position; ask any quarterback who wants to play this game. But at the same time, it's part of the job and everything else. I think that the reality is that I've definitely been hit. I've been sacked almost 400 times, so we've got to get better. I've got to find ways to get better too."

When asked if his frustrations lay with the Seahawks organization, Russell Wilson responded:

"I'm frustrated [about] getting hit too much. I'm frustrated with that part of it. At the end of the day, you want to win."

The quotes surfaced not long after ESPN broke the story that several NFL teams had been in contact with Seattle about Russell Wilson's availability in recent weeks. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler was quick to add that the Seahawks organization had been quick to knock back all approaches.

It's little wonder Pete Carroll wants to keep hold of his main man: firstly he's a tremendous talent, a quarterback capable of winning the Super Bowl again; secondly, if Wilson did leave during the offseason it would necessitate a $39 million dead-money charge against Seattle's 2021 salary cap, making it hard to replace the former University of Wisconsin starlet in the short term. Keeping hold of Russell Wilson is an absolute no-brainer for Pete Carroll.

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NFL Trade Rumors: Just how bad has it been for Wilson behind the Seahawks underperforming offensive line?

Seattle Seahawks v Cleveland Browns

During the 2020-21 season, Russel Wilson got hit with 47 sacks, which is the 3rd highest total in the NFL, behind only the Eagles' Carson Wentz (50) and the Texans' Deshaun Watson (49). Whilst the offensive line is absolutely culpable for many of these hits to its QB, the Seattle star does have a habit of extending plays and inviting defensive pressure, so some of the responsibility is Russ's own, too.

Whoever is to blame, Russell Wilson has been sacked 394 times in 144 regular-season games, the most for any player through his first 9 seasons since the AFC and NFC merged in 1970. Put simply, for the longevity of his career, Russell Wilson can't afford to continue to get hit like that.

Russell Wilson has been sacked 100 more times than any other QB since he entered the league in 2012 (441) pic.twitter.com/oz08ftC30p

— PFF (@PFF) February 9, 2021

Wilson stated the same thing later in the interview with

"I think that sometimes you hold onto it a little bit just because you're looking for that play and you find it, but also so many of those times it turns into touchdowns too. But you never want to be sacked that many times. Four-hundred times basically is way too many -- 400 too many. So I think that's a big thing that we've got to fix. That's got to be fixed and has to be at the end of the day, because my goal is to play 10 to 15 more years."

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NFL Trade Rumors: Is Russell Wilson going to be traded by the Seahawks?

May shift my focus to Russel Wilson... have my eyes on Dak as well.. I’m all over the place https://t.co/YruaB6ynIu

— Eric Davidson (@ericdavidson5) February 9, 2021

It's highly unlikely that Russell Wilson will leave the Seahawks. The Super Bowl winning quarterback has generational talent in his hands and feet. Very few quarterbacks are capable of throwing balls into orbit the way he does, and his ability to extend plays by scrambling out of the pocket is legendary.

Russell Wilson is an elite player under contract in Seattle for at least two more years, and I just don't see any reason why the Seahawks would want to do a deal for their best player, nor do I see Wilson kicking up a Deshaun Watson type of stink and really going all out for the move either.

A much simpler option is for the Seahawks to strengthen their offensive line and get Russell Wilson more involved with trades and tactics during the offseason. I think these recent statements to the media have been power plays from Russell Wilson. He wants better protection and he wants to be more involved behind the scenes. He'll probably get both now, too.

What do you think? Is Russell Wilson leaving Seattle? Have your say in the comments section below: