Why Seattle CANNOT trade Russell Wilson; plus, the strategy driving Miami’s win streak and more

In the first three drafts of the Carroll era, the Seahawks knocked it out of the park. From 2010 through 2012, Carroll, GM John Schneider and Co. selected Earl Thomas, Golden Tate, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and Wilson, forming the foundation of a championship program. But since that three-year run of drafting excellence, Seattle just hasn’t picked anywhere near as successfully. And this isn’t just a fleeting trend — it’s been nearly a decade. The past nine drafts have produced a gem here and there (SEE: Day 2 receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett), but for the most part, returns have been slim.

So, with that as the backdrop, why would the Seahawks give up their most valuable piece to suddenly bet on their suspect draft acumen? Wilson is an elite quarterback, the most sought-after commodity in the NFL. They’re supposed to voluntarily flip that for the lottery tickets that are draft picks? And in case you haven’t begun your 2022 draft prep yet, this QB class looks far less appealing than recent crops.

This is why the Seahawks must continue to forge forward with Wilson as the franchise player. Upgrade the roster around him, so he can flourish as his athleticism wanes and his game changes in the back nine of his career. I know some quarterbacks are capable of playing into their 40s these days, but the Seahawks need to focus on a five-year plan, based on Wilson’s age and contract situation. The veteran has two years remaining on a four-year, $140 million deal. With an average annual salary of $35 million, the deal reset the market back in 2019, making Russ the highest-paid player in the NFL at the time. But of course, the market has passed him by in the years since. Despite a subpar, injury-riddled 2021 campaign from Wilson, the Seahawks need to sweeten the pot to bring the quarterback’s average annual salary to the $40 million mark that is the new standard for top quarterbacks. A contract extension/raise would not only help repair relations with Wilson, but it’d give the team more salary cap flexibility to acquire some of the established veterans that Seattle needs to close the gap on its division rivals in the difficult NFC West. To his credit, Carroll knows that latter part is a need.

“When you look around our division, and you look at when the Cardinals were really rolling and they had all of their guys going, they had a lot of star players on their football team. Like, National Football League star guys,” Carroll said this week. “The Rams looked like they were pretty loaded up as well. You could see it. The Niners have a lot of firepower.

“We like what we got, but you gotta admire what the other teams have and acknowledge the fact they got some great players over there, too. It’s been really balanced out.”