Las Vegas Raiders most logical choice for Seattle in trading Russell Wilson
By Brad Weiss
For the fourth offseason in a row since Jon Gruden returned to the Raiders franchise, all the news surrounding the team has seemingly landed on the quarterback position. Since coming back, it was viewed that Gruden and Derek Carr were not a good fit, and nearly every available quarterback has been rumored to the Silver and Black since.
This year, the big names rumored to the Raiders were Deshaun Watson, who has played his last down in Houston most likely, and now Russell Wilson, a guy who has never had a losing season as a starting quarterback. Wilson is a special talent and a Super Bowl champion, but I view him landing with the Raiders as a long shot.
Still, based on the four teams he is willing to be traded to, the Raiders are the logical choice for Russell Wilson.
Gruden not afraid to make big splashes via a trade
If there is one thing Gruden has proven to have no problem doing since returning is pulling off big trades, as was the case in 2018, and 2019. Those years, Gruden traded away two Pro Bowl players in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, sending them to the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys to collect first-round draft picks.
In Mack, Gruden traded away an all-time player, someone who will be in Canton one day, and he did it in Mack’s prime. Cooper is a very good NFL wide receiver, and so far, the returns of those draft picks have been everywhere from very good, to a swing and a miss.
Trading for Wilson would be a franchise-defining move, as he is still in his prime, and is a proven winner at the NFL level. Gruden said he was keeping Mack and Cooper before trading them away, so him standing behind Carr is not something we can just take at his word.