Before the 2022 season, the Washington Commanders searched high and low for a starting quarterback. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles were entertaining whether to upgrade its quarterback situation or stick it out with a young Jalen Hurts. The paths of the two NFC East rivals led to the same option, Russell Wilson.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Eagles and Commanders pursued a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for Wilson. Both teams came close to landing him, yet, Wilson nixed both deals with his no-trade clause in favor of the Denver Broncos.
“There were times last year when I was pretty convinced at the combine that either the Eagles or Commanders were going to trade for Russell Wilson,” Rapoport said in an interview with Joey Mulinaro. “That was one where you kind of stop everything, and you’re like, ‘Hang on, but it turned out that was not something he was into.”
Rapoport’s news drop echoed previous reports by Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop and Wilson’s personal QB coach Jake Heaps.
Bishop said the Eagles “really wanted” Wilson.
If either the Eagles or Commanders had their way, the history of the NFL last season would have drastically changed. Hurts had a breakout season and helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl LVII appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Commanders didn’t have the same success as the Eagles. Washington shifted its focus to acquiring Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts. The Commanders missed the playoffs in a season when Wentz got injured, came back, and got benched.
Meanwhile, Russell Wilson went to the Broncos and had his worst career season. Wilson threw a career-low 16 touchdowns in 15 games with 11 interceptions.
It begs the question, would Wilson have been as bad in Philly or DC, or did his dropoff have more to do with his coach Nathanial Hackett being in over his head?
Wilson’s trade to the Broncos also came with him landing a five-year, $242 million contract extension. The Broncos may have second thoughts about the deal already.
The Eagles found their franchise QB in Hurts and rewarded him with a massive contract extension this offseason. A Wilson deal means the Eagles likely do not acquire star wide receiver A.J. Brown in a trade. And a run to the Super Bowl may not have happened.
The Commanders reportedly offered high-round draft picks for 2022, 2023 and 2024
Wentz became a one-and-done quarterback in Washington. However, by not getting Wilson, the Commanders saved themselves a headache with the massive extension that Wilson required. What made Wentz’s trade easy to accept was that the Commanders could cut ties with him after one year with no salary cap ramifications.
Now the Commanders are leaning on last year’s fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell at starting quarterback. The freed-up money from releasing Wentz allowed the Commanders to re-sign defensive tackle Daron Payne to a new contract this offseason.
It’s safe to say the Eagles and Commanders dodged giant bullets with Russell Wilson nixing their trades.
