A Russell Wilson trade would have ‘domino effect’ on Seahawks’ roster

The big offseason question surrounding the Seahawks is whether or not they hold onto star quarterback Russell Wilson.

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Wilson voiced his displeasure with the team’s pass protection earlier this offseason, and multiple reports have surfaced that he is unhappy with the Seahawks for a variety of reasons and that he’s open to the idea of being traded to a short list of teams.

Now, it’s unclear how serious the Seahawks are considering trading Wilson. It’s also unclear if Wilson truly wants out of Seattle or if the situation between him and the team is salvageable.

Many, including Jake Heaps of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy, think Wilson will be in Seattle not only for 2021 but also beyond next season as well. But if the Seahawks did do the seemingly unthinkable and trade Wilson to another team, Heaps said that would have a “domino effect” on the rest of Seattle’s roster. He explained how that would be the case on Friday.

“Depending on what you get back, what ends up happening here is, what happens with Duane Brown?” Heaps said of the Seahawks’ 35-year-old left tackle. “Does Duane Brown want to continue to play for the Seahawks? Does he want to hit the open market? Or does he want to retire at this stage of his career? He now has to legitimately think about that.”

Brown isn’t the only member of the Seahawks’ offense who may want out of town if Wilson leaves, either.

“How does it effect DK Metcalf and his long-term vision of does he want to be here in Seattle?” Heaps said.

Metcalf, who is entering his third year in the NFL, set a Seahawks record for receiving yards in a single season in 2020. He is eligible for a contract extension next offseason, but if Wilson were to leave, there’s a chance he could ask to be traded or could choose to play out the rest of his deal and leave town when his contract expires after 2022.

And then there’s the defense, which, while not as good as Seattle’s offense has been in recent seasons, has some star players who could potentially force their way out of town if Wilson gets moved.

“Jamal Adams I think it effects. Bobby Wagner it effects,” Heaps said. “I think this has a huge domino effect on all of the pending free agents that you have coming up down the road.”

Heaps stressed that if the Seahawks do trade Wilson, it wouldn’t be “just simply trading one player” but the start of a dramatic shift for the entire roster.

“I’ve said from the beginning that I don’t think you can continue to keep churning out 10-win seasons and playoff (appearances) consistently if you move on from Russell Wilson,” he said. “It’s going to take multiple years to get yourself back on track and get back to that stage, if I’m looking at this from Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s perspective, because there’s going to have to be a lot of churning of that roster to put it in position to get younger, to get healthier and to build towards a future rather than just being in win-now mode, which they have been in pretty much for a decade-plus now.”

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