The NFL might have looked a lot different if Russell Wilson made a different decision about his future last offseason. According to Sports Illustrated‘s Greg Bishop, the Philadelphia Eagles wanted to trade for Wilson while he was still a member of the Seattle Seahawks, but the veteran quarterback turned them down.
Speaking on Seattle Sports 770 earlier this week, Bishop said that Seahawks engaged in trade talks about Wilson with multiple teams after the 2021 season wrapped up. Both the Eagles and the Washington Commanders were close to finalizing a deal, but Wilson refused to waive his no-trade clause. And we know what happened next.
Wilson instead opted to go to the Denver Broncos, where he had one of his worst seasons as a pro in 2022. The Broncos failed to reach the playoffs and fired their head coach while Wilson completed a career-low 60.5% of his passes and threw for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
The Eagles, on the other hand, doubled down on Jalen Hurts as their quarterback and saved their draft picks. They used the assets to add several quality defensive players through the draft and acquire star wideout A.J. Brown. Hurts emerged as one of the league’s signal callers, becoming an MVP candidate and leading the Philadelphia to No. 1 seed in NFC and a Super Bowl appearance.
It is safe to say that the Eagles are more than happy that Wilson turned them down. Wilson, on the other hand, will probably come to regret his decision if he continues to struggle with the Broncos.
