Russell Wilson will not be traded

What in the world.

On the one hand, it is somewhat surreal to be connected to the most drama-filled team in the NFL at the moment.

On the other hand, I applaud the Seattle Seahawks entire organization for generating this smokescreen so they can get to work swiping Aaron Donald and Deshaun Watson without scrutiny.

In conclusion, Russell Wilson will not be traded.

Not only have the internet trolls turned on Wilson in a heartbeat, and not only have a few poor souls joined the useless tirade, but it makes no sense.

Exhibit A, math.

Exhibit B, Wilson’s no-trade clause. At the moment this actually seems like the easiest hurdle to jump, if reports are to believed that everybody is mad at everybody else. Wilson could simply wave his magic wand, presumably Sounders colors, and change it.

Exhibit C, the Jared Goff / Matthew Stafford trade. In order to acquire an above-average quarterback the same age as Wilson, the Los Angeles Rams had to give up a starting-caliber quarterback AND two future first round picks (yes, admitting they will not be top-10 picks), AND a third round pick.

Wilson, an MVP-flirtatious quarterback (all meanings of flirtatious implied), would then be worth....?

NFL teams can only trade two years into the future until the draft begins. It’s hard to imagine John Schneider and the Seahawks staying on the phone for less than two firsts, two seconds, a third, all the cash to make up for the dead cap, I mean it just starts to get ridiculous.

We all just witnessed Seattle become (again) a team with a fast, respectable defense, stellar skill players, and one weakness against the thrice-blasted-and-accursed Rams away from doing playoff damage. This is the time to take Wilson’s requests into consideration, not give him away.

Exhibit 4 or whatever we’re on, Pete Carroll is not Sean McVay. He’s not Chip Kelly. He’s not Bill Belichick (to the regret of many). He’s certainly not Jim Harbaugh although that’s a little different. Has more to do with not being able to pull of a solid khaki/visor combo if you ask me.

The point is this: the bored offseason media firestorm of speculation has immediately forgotten Pete Carroll’s proven characteristics.

It’s not entirely nonsense, but it’s not far off. Pete Carroll does not turn on his players. McVay gave up on Jared Goff and got rid of him immediately at loss. Kelly pissed off everyone in a 300 mile radius of Philadelphia. Belichick has traded guys, benched guys, ignored Tom Brady, etc. for a decade, if it suits his interests. Our beloved Jim Harbaugh has the opposite effect, in getting everyone to get rid of him somehow.

Carroll is not built like this. While we must admit he has been incredibly slow and stubborn in some philosophy adjustments, while some others will likely never happen, we just witnessed the league’s oldest coach change.

He’s hired Shane Waldron. This is not a Pete Carroll coach, this is a Russell Wilson coach. So the “can’t be co-workers” is absolutely not coming from Carroll’s side. He’s trying. He’ll probably still punt on 4th, but he’s trying.

Is it coming from Wilson, then? No, and I would very timidly offer Exhibit 5, which is that Wilson of late has become more vocal in the offseason. Which is not great because he doesn’t seem to be all that good at it. He takes too many interviews, and answers too many questions with a half grin on his face, and things have gotten out of hand.

But Wilson wants to win games more than anything else, and a team who can afford him is not a team that can win more games than the Seahawks right now.

The #3 jerseys are safe this year.