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Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?


Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?  

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  1. 1. Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?



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3 hours ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

So Watson is worse to this point compared to Wilson IMO because Watson has been terrible so far while the rest of the team was good enough to win, so if they had found a good QB in the short term there may have been a chance for real playoff success. The Broncos were just bad. While in the near future, Watson has got 3 fully guaranteed years left at cap hits of $64MM/year, and it legitimately looks like he can't beat out a backup. So for 3 more years the Browns are basically stuck in Saints-style purgatory trying to find the right combination of pieces that turn the clock back.

While I don't disagree with much of this - what happens if Watson has a season reminiscent of his days with the Texans, where he's playing like a top 5 QB and making Houdini plays? Even before the trade, Watson was the 2nd highest paid QB in football, nobody criticized the Texans for extending him in his first few seasons in the league. That guy who played in Houston was worth the exorbitant cap hit.

I'll concede that the odds of that guy ever returning is slim - Watson's game was predicated on chaos that Bill O'Brien was content in letting happen and Kevin Stefanski's offense is the stark opposite of chaotic; It wasn't a good fit from the get-go, and the two-ish years off from football didn't help, either (not to mention a shoulder injury that should further slow him down). This ALL being said, the odds of him finding that magic that made him such a coveted asset is greater than zero - the possibility exists, even if it's miniscule. 

If THAT guy comes back? That changes the narrative a bit. I don't think the Texans LOSE the trade (getting returns such as Will Anderson and Tank Dell secure the Texans as the winner) but Watson at least elevates the trade outside of Russell Wilson territory.

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4 minutes ago, ET80 said:

While I don't disagree with much of this - what happens if Watson has a season reminiscent of his days with the Texans, where he's playing like a top 5 QB and making Houdini plays? Even before the trade, Watson was the 2nd highest paid QB in football, nobody criticized the Texans for extending him in his first few seasons in the league. That guy who played in Houston was worth the exorbitant cap hit.

I'll concede that the odds of that guy ever returning is slim - Watson's game was predicated on chaos that Bill O'Brien was content in letting happen and Kevin Stefanski's offense is the stark opposite of chaotic; It wasn't a good fit from the get-go, and the two-ish years off from football didn't help, either (not to mention a shoulder injury that should further slow him down). This ALL being said, the odds of him finding that magic that made him such a coveted asset is greater than zero - the possibility exists, even if it's miniscule. 

If THAT guy comes back? That changes the narrative a bit. I don't think the Texans LOSE the trade (getting returns such as Will Anderson and Tank Dell secure the Texans as the winner) but Watson at least elevates the trade outside of Russell Wilson territory.

That'd completely change my opinion for sure if he started playing well. It almost assuredly still wouldn't be a good trade because he's a dual threat guy in his early 30s with a ton of baggage, but yeah it wouldn't be Russ bad.

 

There aren't really any comparables that I know of that worked out well taking that long a break from high level football. The closest I could think of is Michael Vick, and no disrespect to DeShaun Watson, he wasn't ever Mike Vick.

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47 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

There aren't really any comparables that I know of that worked out well taking that long a break from high level football. The closest I could think of is Michael Vick, and no disrespect to DeShaun Watson, he wasn't ever Mike Vick.

Nah, disrespect Watson to your hearts' content. He's earned it.

Randall Cunningham comes to mind. Took a break, came back as a Viking and blew up (didn't hurt having Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss, of course). Geno Smith's resurrection in Seattle - is that one? Don't think he was in anyone's mind for nearly a decade and then he's brought in to replace Russell (ironically enough) and made a coin or two in the process. 

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Just now, ET80 said:

Nah, disrespect Watson to your hearts' content. He's earned it.

Randall Cunningham comes to mind. Took a break, came back as a Viking and blew up (didn't hurt having Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss, of course). Geno Smith's resurrection in Seattle - is that one? Don't think he was in anyone's mind for nearly a decade and then he's brought in to replace Russell (ironically enough) and made a coin or two in the process. 

Cunningham is a really good one. I think Smith stayed in the league the whole time. And obviously what Joe Flacco did last year was proof we entered a simulation so I'm throwing that one out.

Though looking at the group of guys, there's a pretty decent amount of success for being out of the football for a full year+.

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7 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

Cunningham is a really good one. I think Smith stayed in the league the whole time. And obviously what Joe Flacco did last year was proof we entered a simulation so I'm throwing that one out.

Though looking at the group of guys, there's a pretty decent amount of success for being out of the football for a full year+.

Not that PFR is the source of truth, but it looks like he was out of football in 2019, but joined Seattle in 2020:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitGe00.htm

He didn't have to sit out 11 games in 2020, but he definitely didn't play behind Russ...

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7 hours ago, Kiwibrown said:

Watson isn't worse imo. He has winning record as a starter here. Time will tell. Another injury plagued season then probably 

He has a winning record here because the defense allowed 0, 3, 3, 12, and 17 points in his 5 games played this year. When you can win a game doing almost nothing it’s pretty easy. He will managed to lose one of those games though. 
 

Watson has been worse than Russ thus far, it’s just we have an unrealized loss on our books and the Broncos cashed out already 

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1 minute ago, roger murdock said:

He has a winning record here because the defense allowed 0, 3, 3, 12, and 17 points in his 5 games played this year. When you can win a game doing almost nothing it’s pretty easy. He managed to lose one of those games though. 

Watson has been worse than Russ thus far, it’s just we have an unrealized loss on our books and the Broncos cashed out already 

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Washington's trade for RG3 has to be considered. They traded up from 6 to 2, giving up #6 overall, #39 overall (2nd) and two future firsts. Washington ended up with just RG3 and the Rams traded down several times and ended up with 8 players: DT Michael Brockers, CB Janoris Jenkins, HB Isaiah Pead, OL Rokevious Watkins, OLB Alec Ogletree, WR Stedman Bailey, RB Zac Stacy, and OT Greg Robinson. Now obviously the Rams blew this haul with some pretty terrible selections, but they were in position to select better players with the draft picks they obtained. Washington got 1 ROTY season from RG3, and then he systematically destroyed the team by whining to the owner about Mike Shanahan and getting him fired, which in the process removed the youngest and best coaching staff in the entire league at the time (look it up). Washington essentially ended up with nothing for 4 premium draft picks and lost all momentum they were building. This trade basically imploded the entire franchise. 

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2 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

Washington's trade for RG3 has to be considered. They traded up from 6 to 2, giving up #6 overall, #39 overall (2nd) and two future firsts. Washington ended up with just RG3 and the Rams traded down several times and ended up with 8 players: DT Michael Brockers, CB Janoris Jenkins, HB Isaiah Pead, OL Rokevious Watkins, OLB Alec Ogletree, WR Stedman Bailey, RB Zac Stacy, and OT Greg Robinson. Now obviously the Rams blew this haul with some pretty terrible selections, but they were in position to select better players with the draft picks they obtained. Washington got 1 ROTY season from RG3, and then he systematically destroyed the team by whining to the owner about Mike Shanahan and getting him fired, which in the process removed the youngest and best coaching staff in the entire league at the time (look it up). Washington essentially ended up with nothing for 4 premium draft picks and lost all momentum they were building. This trade basically imploded the entire franchise. 

The Broncos cut Russell Wilson BEFORE he started the extension he signed, and the Broncos doubled the previous record for dead cap.

 

Wilson's is much, much worse.

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On 3/4/2024 at 2:33 PM, scar988 said:

It's probably 3rd behind the Herschel Walker and Ricky Williams trades.

Seattle got:

OT Charles Cross

EDGE Boye Mafe

EDGE Tyreke Smith

WR Dareke Young

CB Devon Weatherspoon

EDGE Darick Hall

TE Noah Fant

DL Shelby Harris

QB Drew Lock

 

Broncos got:

QB Russell Wilson

DT Eyioma Uwazurike 

 

Seattle won this handily.

Neither team has made the postseason since the trade, so I wouldn't call Seattle a winner. Not yet, anyway.

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