Brock & Salk: ‘Hard no’ on a Seahawks reunion with Russell Wilson

The big news in the NFL world this week involved one of the greatest players in Seattle Seahawks history.

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Former Hawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been benched by the Broncos, signaling an end to his two-year run in Denver after being traded there in a blockbuster deal in the 2022 offseason.

According to reports, Wilson’s benching is centered around that had he gotten seriously hurt during the Broncos’ final two games, Wilson would have netted more guaranteed money due to an injury clause in his contract. Wilson reportedly will now be released this offseason, meaning the nine-time Pro Bowler would be a free agent for the first time since entering the NFL in 2012 as a third-round pick of Seattle.

What makes that interesting from a Seahawks perspective isn’t just that Wilson’s post-Seattle run has not worked out well for him, but that the Hawks could very well be in the market for a new quarterback as this offseason is the easiest time for the franchise to get out of Geno Smith’s contract.

Brock Huard and Mike Salk dove into the possibility of a Seahawks-Wilson reunion during Thursday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.

Huard actually used a social media poll to gauge Seahawks fans and their interest in bringing Wilson back to town.

“Everybody’s got an opinion and a conversation,” Huard said. “And 26% of the population (out of over 17,000 voters) said, ‘Yeah, I’d like him to come back here and compete.'”

Whether it’s with the Seahawks or anywhere else, Wilson likely would play for at or close to the veteran minimum, so money would likely not be a factor.

“He’s not going to get much money from anybody around the league,” Huard said.

So, does Huard want Wilson back in a Seahawks uniform?

“No. Too much (history). And at this stage and age? No,” Huard said, later adding, “It’s not gonna be here.”

The breakup between Wilson and the Seahawks was a longtime coming.

Contract negotiations for both of his extensions with the Seahawks were reportedly tumultuous, and Wilson and his camp teased a breakup multiple times, including in the offseason ahead of the 2021 season where Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers gave ESPN’s Adam Schefter a list of four teams Wilson would OK a trade to, while also insisting that the star quarterback was not asking to be traded.

The next offseason, not too long after Wilson told reporters unprompted at a late-season press conference that he hoped Seattle’s Week 17 game wouldn’t be his last home game with the Seahawks, Wilson waived his no-trade clause and went to Denver in a deal for three players and five draft picks. He later signed a lucrative extension.

ESPN’s Brady Henderson dove deep into the breakup between the Seahawks and Wilson last September, and Huard was actually quoted in the story.

“I just vividly remember saying to to Brady … that the Seahawks’ judgment is that Russell’s best years are behind him. Bottom line,” Huard said. “… (More than) all the other stuff, the very, very clear point in the decision-making process is that John and Pete believe that because of the mileage, because of the age, because of the deficiencies and where it’s going, that his best football is behind him and not in front of them and no way in the world were they going to be on the hook for the kinds of millions of dollars that the Denver Broncos were going to be. And beyond anything else, why was he benched? It’s about the money. It’s was about the money two years ago as well.”

Salk strongly agreed with Huard that Wilson shouldn’t be with the Seahawks again.

“No, I would not want Russ back at this point. And that’s not to say that it wouldn’t be a cool thing to see him find a way to kind of fix and repair his reputation, but I don’t see why the Seahawks need to be a part of that,” he said. “I don’t see why they need to help given some of the history and given where he’s at as a player right now. I just don’t see it. I think it’s time for them to start moving forward. And I do still believe that this is an offseason where they need to draft a quarterback or find somebody for the next few years.”

Added Huard, “That’s not 36 years old.”

“I don’t think that’s what they need to do, and I know it’s Seattle where the idea of going backwards is always appealing, right? But I would say a hard no on this one,” Salk said.

Listen to the full third hour of Thursday’s Brock and Salk at this link or in the player near the top of this story.

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