The Chicago Bears have never had a quarter-throw for 4,000 yards or 30 strokes in a season, the only franchise in the NFL to achieve this dubious performance. No wonder they plan to push Russell Wilson hard when he’s available.
Chicago will do nothing to stop Wilson from ending up in the Seattle Seahawks brand. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears preferred to make a turn at Wilson – as Chicago is one of four teams Wilson would prefer to make a trade if Seattle would give him away. The New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders are the other teams Wilson prefers to trade rather than – but Chicago is the franchise in dire need of a quarterback among the four.
New Orleans has (currently) Drew Brees – who has not yet announced his retirement – but the Saints have a significant amount of salary cap. The Cowboys are trying to work out a long-term deal with Dak Prescott, but could enter the lottery if talks go through. The Raiders showed support for Derek Carr, who has them under contract. This leaves Chicago as the franchise that can pay a king’s ransom to get Wilson out of Seattle.
Wilson has reportedly said he wants to stay in Seattle, but he is frustrated with the number of bags he has experienced throughout his career. He was sacked 394 times in his first nine seasons, the most for any quarterback since 1970 (Randall Cunningham is second with 366). Despite all the hits, Wilson had the nail-biting spot (267) during that nine-year run – just Peyton Manning. He also has the fifth most passing meter (33,946), and the second highest rating for passers-by (101.7).
The 32-year-old comes off an excellent season and completes 68.8% of his passes for 4,212 yards and 40 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions for a 105.1 passer score. The seven-time Pro Bowl pick won a Super Bowl in his second season with the Seahawks.
Wilson has a solid price in the trading market, but it’s worth it to have a franchise quarterback for a few seasons – especially for a team desperate for a star quarterback, like Chicago.