Despite the Chicago Bears declaring Andy Dalton the team’s QB1 for the 2021 season, hopes — however slim they may be — of potentially landing quarterback Russell Wilson haven’t died down. In fact, they seem to be ramping up again.
Much like Wilson-to-Chicago speculation dominated headlines for a couple of weeks, reports about a potential Wilson trade not being dead yet have surfaced over the last few weeks. And from credible sources such as ESPN’s Adam Schefter and now Jeff Darlington.
Darlington appeared on a couple of podcasts, including The Rich Eisen show and The Ringer, where he shared his belief that Wilson won’t be on Seattle’s roster come the start of the 2021 season.
Is Russell Wilson on his way out of Seattle? @ryenarussillo is joined by @JeffDarlington to discuss this and more on the #RussilloPod: pic.twitter.com/RaVwaVCG8R
— The Ringer (@ringer) March 24, 2021
"It points me more toward he won't be on the roster in 2021."
–@JeffDarlington provided an angle we did NOT see coming to the Russell Wilson saga with the #Seahawks:#NFL #NFLFreeAgency #NFLDraft @RyanDLeaf pic.twitter.com/qsL1UFZHC3
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 24, 2021
“I don’t fully believe that Russell Wilson plays in Seattle in 2021,” Darlington said on The Ringer. “I still just believe… where there’s smoke with Russ Wilson, there’s fire. When you start naming teams that you’re willing to play for, you’re one foot out the door. Very rarely in the NFL, as recently as Tom Brady, when someone puts one foot out the door, they usually don’t come back in.”
Now, whether or not that means Chicago is still in play remains to be seen. But Schefter said that the Bears “haven’t abandoned hopes” of potentially landing Wilson, even despite signing Dalton.
Chicago got made an aggressive push for Wilson not too long ago — where the reported offer was three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two players. But the Seahawks weren’t willing to part ways with Wilson “at this time,” a phrase that’s been used by Schefter several times since that initial offer fell through.
The thing holding Seattle back is having a replacement for Wilson, something that Chicago can’t exactly provide with the 20th overall pick. But things could certainly change, and the time to watch the Seahawks is closer to the draft, where Schefter and now Darlington have said to keep an eye out for a potential trade.
While Bears fans certainly won’t be getting their hopes on again, it’s hard to imagine this story going away before the draft.
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