National Football League

The Bears are hungry for a Russell Wilson deal, but would the Seahawks bite?

Published Mar. 11, 2021 9:00 p.m. ET

The Chicago Bears are desperate for a quarterback. But are they desperate enough to pry Russell Wilson away from the Seattle Seahawks?

Apparently, they’re eager to give it a try.

Wilson’s unhappiness with the Seahawks has been a major story this offseason, and it took a big leap forward in late February when his agent made a comment along the lines of (and we're paraphrasing): "Russell hasn’t asked for a trade, and really, really, really doesn’t want to be traded. But (cough, cough) if he were to consider waiving a no-trade clause (ahem) he would only consider (wink) the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders and Bears."

The Seahawks didn’t take kindly to that not-so-subtle message and decided it might be smart to actually answer the phone when teams called to ask about their franchise quarterback. It doesn’t hurt to listen right?

While all of this was happening, the lineup of theoretically available quarterbacks gradually dwindled – Carson Wentz was traded to Indianapolis, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford were swapped for each other, Ben Roethlisberger took a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh, Dak Prescott signed a massive deal with the Cowboys, and the Houston Texans insisted they wouldn't deal Deshaun Watson. And so the focus has increasingly zeroed in on Wilson.

This is where we bring in NFL reporter Jason La Canfora, who reported on Wednesday that the Bears were willing to "throw a boatload of picks" at the Texans for Watson, or at the Seahawks for Wilson. Again, since the Texans insist that they won’t trade their guy, we’ll focus on Wilson here.

La Canfora wrote that the Bears are "beyond serious", and he quotes an unnamed NFL executive as saying: "There is a real sense of panic in that building. Don’t underestimate how desperate they are."

This buildup has led to a sudden frenzy amongst Bears fans on social media, which has been entertaining if not particularly logical.

But when you think about the history behind this story, that excitement is understandable.

First of all, the Bears continue to be the object of criticism for selecting Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft. And rightly so. This was the same draft in which the Kansas City Chiefs grabbed Patrick Mahomes at No. 10, and when the Texans picked Watson at No. 12. Even worse, the Bears traded up to get Trubisky.

While it’s undeniable that talent evaluation is hard, a miss of this magnitude is the kind that can cost people their jobs. Coach John Fox found that out eventually, but general manager Ryan Pace is still there, and the pressure is on.

Another thing to consider is the history of the franchise.

The Bears view themselves as a legendary team, full of history. Yet they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1985, a fact of which they are very aware.

According to Brandon Marshall on ‘First Things First,’ there are sentimental reasons the Bears feel they need to be aggressive on the quarterback market, that they need to end this long run of mediocrity and win for their matriarch.

"They’re super-passionate, and it starts with one person in that building," Marshall said. "She’s 98 years of age. That’s Virginia McCaskey. I was there three years, 2012-2014, and everybody in the building knew that George McCaskey, her son who runs the team, wanted her to go out with a Lombardi Trophy, and that’s what we worked for every single day."

This is a team that despite going 8-8 last season, believes it’s on the verge of contending. It’s a team that feels that perhaps it is a quarterback away from being able to do so.

On the same show, Nick Wright pointed out that there might be another reason that the Bears are desperate.

"The last time Virginia McCaskey, her team had a quality quarterback, she was 25 years old and his name was Sid Luckman and it was the late ‘40s," Wright said. "Do you know who the highest-rated quarterback in Bears history is? Mitch Trubisky. Look it up. That’s a true stat."

That’s true. Of the six Bears quarterbacks who have passed for at least 10,000 yards (Trubisky, Jay Cutler, Erik Kramer, Jim McMahon, Sid Luckman and Jim Harbaugh), Trubisky’s passer rating of 87.2 is the highest. That’s an embarrassingly bare cupboard for a franchise that considers itself among the all-time greats.

Wilson would undoubtedly change all of that. Marshall says the addition of Wilson would do for the Bears what James Harden did for the Nets.

"Absolutely, he makes them a contender," he said.

And Colin Cowherd said that Wilson could be a good fit there.

"He likes the idea of turning around an iconic franchise," Cowherd said. "He also sees them as an emerging offensive line, a solid offensive-minded coach and the intriguing market of Chicago."

When you consider all of these factors, you can understand why the Bears might feel a sense of desperation to make a play for Wilson, especially if they believe they are a quarterback away from title contention.

All of this has excited the fan base while also leading to some issues among sports bettors. Our own Sammy P reported that there has been enough action on Wilson going to the Bears that sportsbooks took down "next team" betting odds on Wilson.

The problem with all of this, of course, is that none of it considers the Seahawks and what they might want to do. Wilson will cost the Seahawks $107 million over the final three seasons of his contract, a perfectly reasonable amount for a quarterback of his talent and star power.

What would be their incentive to give him up? How unhappy would the Seahawks-Wilson marriage have to get to prompt a trade? What would they require in return, and could the Bears even meet the demand?

Those are the tricky questions that have to be answered. And until they are, the desperation of the Bears and the excitement of their fans won’t amount to much.