Jim Moore: Trade Wilson for Rodgers? Sure, it might sound crazy, but think about it

Know what kills me from a sportswriter’s point of view? When someone comments that a story is “click bait,” designed solely to get clicks and page views and lacks substance or merit of any kind, making it a waste of the reader’s time.

I think back to my newspaper days at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer before clicks were a thing. If I remember right, even then I was trying to write stories that people would read. Isn’t that the point?

I never wanted to waste anyone’s time. I tried to write stories or columns that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. At times I hit home runs with this approach. And many other times I swung and missed and walked back to the dugout wondering why I wrote that clunker.

There are limits to this approach, I get that. You don’t want to become a full-on “troll,” pushing stories that are so far-fetched, they can’t be taken seriously.

With that, I’ll suggest something the Seahawks should consider if they really want to shake things up: trading Russell Wilson for Aaron Rodgers.

Before you think “man, I should have never clicked on this link,” give it a second thought. Then give it a third and fourth thought.

We learned last week via an NFL Network report that Wilson is “exploring his options,” whatever that means. Seems like this will be a short exploration since he really only has one option because he’s under contract with the Seahawks for the next two years.

The team has more options than he does. The Seahawks can keep him and hope in 2022 that he plays like he did in the last game of this season against Arizona when he looked like the Wilson of old instead of an old Wilson, which is what we’ve seen more of in the last year and a half. Or the Seahawks can trade him and hope that he agrees to waive his no-trade clause.

I’m in favor of trading him for many reasons. The Seahawks haven’t even sniffed a conference championship game let alone the Super Bowl in the last seven seasons. What makes anyone think they’ll get there with an aging Wilson, who is still on many analysts’ top 10 quarterback lists but in no one’s top 5 anymore after an average 2021 season?

I wouldn’t want to trade a 29-year-old Wilson in the middle of his prime. But he’s 33 now and as he continues to lose mobility, he won’t be nearly as successful as he used to be. Sure, we’ll see glimpses of sensational Russ, but he’ll lack consistency from his past. Think about it, the same guy who routinely rallied the Seahawks to fourth-quarter victories did not engineer those comebacks this year.

And to those who firmly believe it had more to do with his finger injury than a fading Russ, I’d argue that he wasn’t his standout self in the last eight games of 2020 and didn’t exactly shine in the first five games of 2021 before he got hurt.

Sure it’s a gamble to trade Wilson. It could backfire big-time, particularly if general manager John Schneider trades him for three first-round draft choices, say to Philadelphia. The Eagles have the No. 15, 16 and 19 picks overall, and knowing Schneider, he’d turn those three picks into seven or eight, trading down and accumulating a haul that would set the Seahawks up for contention in 2023 or 2024.

But he’d have to find a starting quarterback, and guaranteed, whoever that is, the new guy would be inferior to Wilson, we all know that.

If I’m Schneider, I’d wonder if Wilson will recapture his form, and if I don’t think he will, I need to trade him now because next year I’ll only get two first-rounders in a trade and maybe only one, delaying the rebuild.

A trade for Rodgers is the best-case solution for the Seahawks AND the Packers. I’m not 100 percent certain about this, but it sure seems like Rodgers wants out of Green Bay and said he’ll make his decision after the season ends. Maybe the Packers’ disappointing loss Saturday to San Francisco will lead to even quicker decision from Rodgers.

I’d be guessing at whether the trade would be a straight-up swap or if the Seahawks would have to sweeten the deal with a draft pick or another player. Heck, maybe you’d say the Packers would have to throw in something else since Rodgers is 38 and would appear to have two or three productive years left in his career at best.

But who knows about that? Rodgers could be the next Tom Brady and excel into his 40s. He could also fade out like Ben Roethlisberger did this year at the age of 39. Then again, the same holds true for Wilson.

In the last two years, Rodgers has completed 70 percent of his passes with 85 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Unlike Wilson, there’s been no sign of regression whatsoever.

A trade for Rodgers would also make sense for Pete Carroll, who will turn 71 soon after the 2022 season starts, and for Schneider, whose seat isn’t hot, though it’s warming up. Neither would be more inclined to go the Russell-for-three-first-rounders route since it pushes back the Super Bowl hopes.

As for Wilson waiving his no-trade clause to go to Green Bay, I’d think he would. He starred at Wisconsin and I’m thinking cheeseheads would love to see him return. In Seattle, I’m guessing 12’s would enjoy rooting for No. 12.

If Schneider’s exploring his own options, I hope he says the heck with playing it safe and trades Wilson for Rodgers in a blockbuster deal that would give the Seahawks a more legitimate shot at the Super Bowl again.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on 950 KJR-AM, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.

This story was originally published January 23, 2022 at 11:36 AM.