Seahawks general manager gives surprising reason for Russell Wilson trade
Russell Wilson is now preparing to start offseason practices with the Denver Broncos and there have been varying reports for how the stunning blockbuster trade actually became a reality.
While it’s been nearly a month days since the news rocked the sports world, many Seahawks fans, Broncos fans and causal NFL fans with no allegiance to either franchise are still in shock the trade happened and the player who repeatedly made it known he wanted to retire in Seattle is now gone.
In a new report, from Gregg Bell, it appears the Seattle Seahawks brass was fully under the impression Wilson was not interested in leaving despite the constant rumors.
It’s fair to note that Russell Wilson publicly stated he wanted to retire as a Seahawk and his goals were focused on bringing more Super Bowls to Seattle.
Who initiated Russell Wilson trade?
Based on the information in the report from Bell, there is a narrative that the Seattle Seahawks brass felt blindsided, but the fact is, they did agree to the trade which is necessary based on NFL rules.
According to Broncos GM George Paton, the Seahawks — the same executives who are clearly frustrated and felt betrayed to a degree — are the ones responsible for initiating contact that reportedly went on for roughly a month before the deal was sealed.
“The fact that this did not leak — we had a month of negotiations between [General Manager] John [Schneider] and I and it didn’t leak. It’s a credit to John and a credit to the Seahawks, the Broncos, and Russ and his team,” Broncos general manager George Paton said in a press conference after the team landed Russell Wilson.
“Per a league source, the Seahawks initiated the communications with the Broncos,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk added.
And as Dov Kleiman recently pointed out, the farewells from the Seattle camp — to their beloved quarterback who gave them a Super Bowl and literally changed the franchise in so many ways — were semi-friendly at best in terms of the tone.