The 49ers on Tuesday received perhaps the best possible news they could’ve gotten this offseason. No, they didn’t get a first-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo. Even better – the Seahawks agreed to trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a trade package that, frankly, doesn’t matter!
The thorn in a lime green No. 3 jersey that seemed to be perpetually lodged in San Francisco’s side is gone. He’ll head to the AFC West where he can be a problem for the Raiders, Chiefs and Chargers.
No more near sacks that turn into long gains. No more throws that briefly mess up air traffic before floating back down to Earth and nestling into a wide receiver you’ve never heard of’s arms for a 600-yard touchdown. No more mic’d up sessions full of hand clapping, cliches and good-teammate platitudes that sound like they were penned by Disney’s least creative writer.
No more of this:
On Russell Wilson’s impossibly terrible and hilarious new poster https://t.co/ZsCF8F8x4B pic.twitter.com/HUDIyySyF9
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) July 28, 2016
Or this:
More importantly, the 49ers can now open the book back up on beating the Seahawks twice in a season, something they never did during Wilson’s tenure in Seattle.
Wilson went 16-4 against San Francisco, including a streak of nine in a row from 2014 to 2018. It was a dominant stretch that spanned 10 years and four 49ers head coaches. No matter how good the 49ers were the Seahawks were going to be a problem because of No. 3.
This season was a perfect example. Going into their Week 13 showdown in Seattle, Wilson in three games coming off a finger injury was completing 55.7 percent of his throws at 6.34 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and two interceptions. With the Seahawks all but out of the playoff hunt and the 49ers battling for their postseason lives, Wilson completed 30-of-37 passes for 231 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 30-23 win for a Seahawks team that had lost six-of-seven.
Now he’s in Denver, (likely) never to suit up for the Seahawks again. And unless they face off in the Super Bowl, the 49ers may only see him once or twice more in his career, and thank Heavens for that. The games were typically ugly, they were never normal, and they almost always (80 percent of the time, to be exact) resulted in a San Francisco loss.
It wasn’t all bad though! The Wilson era did give us two all-time classic NFL games. There was the 2013 NFC championship game in Seattle, which while the 49ers lost is still an all-time great football game. Then there was the Week 17 showdown in Seattle to cap the 2019 season with Dre Greenlaw stopping tight end Jacob Hollister at the goal line on a fourth down. Most everything in between and around those games were gross, and he was the most notable constant through that decade. Ergo, his exit is a blessing to 49ers fans and football fans everywhere.
Thank goodness he’s gone. May that thorn reside forever in the sides of the AFC West and never again cause strife in the Bay Area.
[listicle id=676204]