End of an era: The demise of the Seattle Seahawks

Tuesday was a busy day in the NFL.

Amongst all the news of franchise tagging and Aaron Rodgers becoming the highest paid player in NFL history, the Denver Broncos sent shock waves across the league by agreeing a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks to acquire star quarterback Russell Wilson.

The massive deal is projected to be one of the biggest in the league’s history when it becomes official on March 16.

Seattle will receive a package of draft picks and players for Wilson, which includes quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant.

A Super Bowl winner and nine-time Pro Bowler, Wilson brings a pedigree of elite talent to Denver.

There is little doubt in saying that the trade immediately brings the Broncos back into conversation as a championship contender.

Seattle the clear losers despite getting huge purse for Russell Wilson

The Broncos seem to have gone all in on Wilson.

But for a team which already has so much talent on their roster, I think they’ve got their man for a fair price.

Trading for an elite quarterback is one thing. Doing it without losing any of your key players is even better.

The real talking point is the Seahawks. The move ends a long saga of rumours surrounding the third rounder from 2012.

The wheels for the Wilson trade have seemingly been in motion for some time. But the insistence from Seattle’s front office that he wouldn’t be moved on makes the departure a jolting surprise.

Just days before the trade at the NFL Combine, Seahawks GM John Schneider insisted that the Seahawks “want our fans feeling like we got a shot to win this thing every year.”

But in a sport which is so heavily reliant on the quarterback position, having an elite QB is the number one priority for success. The Seahawks have now lost theirs.

With more news that veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner will too be moved on, there are no players remaining in Seattle from their maiden Super Bowl victory in 2014.

Their championships days are over, for now at least.

Is there a case that Seattle are making the right decision? Wilson has regressed slightly over the past couple of years in fairness.

But the NFL is all about winning games and trading Wilson puts them in a worse position to do so.

Despite their first losing season since 2011, the Seahawks were still extremely efficient on offense when Wilson was healthy last year.

He missed multiple games in 2021, a rarity given that he never missed a single game in his NFL career until last season. He’s normal extremely durable and could have offered the Seahawks a great deal in 2022.

The Seahawks may have a tricky division, but the NFC is wide open following Tom Brady’s retirement, Sean Payton’s exit and question marks over the quarterback situations in Arizona, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Seattle may have been able to compete with Wilson at the helm for another year.

Trading for Jamal Adams was the start of the downfall

General Manager John Schneider won’t be too popular in Seattle right now.

He’s made a habit of making strange decisions for the franchise regarding trades. Not only did the Seahawks lose Wilson and Wagner on Tuesday but didn’t use their franchise tag. Expect upcoming free agents Duane Brown and Quandre Diggs to also leave.

On transfers in, they’ve spent draft capital heavily since Schneider was appointed in 2013. The likes of Jimmy Graham, Percy Harvin, Jadeveon Clowney and Sheldon Richardson were all costly and the majority didn’t work out.

Sending a hall of picks to the New York Jets for safety Jamal Adams seemed heavily overpriced at the time. It looks worse given they made him the highest paid player in his position and how disappointing he’s been for the value he cost.

While it’s unproductive and incomparable to link the Adams trade with Wilson’s, it’s relevant to the demise of form in Seattle.

The huge regression of their roster since the arrival of Adams and their subsequent lack of draft picks in the past two years has ultimately left the Seahawks in a desperate scenario.

Adams wanted out of a rebuilding team to join one ready to win. Now, just two years later and having signed a 4-year contract extension in Seattle, he’s back where he started.

Seahawks fans have been scratching their heads at the Adams trade for a while. Now, they are suffering its consequences.

Time to start the rebuild

Following the trade, I struggle to see the Seahawks finding a way to return to winning ways anytime soon.

This was a 7-10 franchise last year. Sure, the Seahawks have had a lot of patches across their roster in recent years. Question marks remain over the running game, their pass rush and notably their offensive line.

But I still think they could have been competitive with Wilson. With no elite quarterback to save the day, the Seahawks should plummet even further down the rankings.

I don’t think the Seahawks will be as the worst team in the NFC in 2022, but they certainly won’t be far off.

The departure of Wagner is also surprising. Another franchise legend who was still playing at a high-level and had a lot left to give. I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in the veteran this offseason.

This is another sign that the Seahawks want to press the reset button.

A rebuild could excite Seahawks fans. You get the #9 and #40 on top of #41 and #72 in the top 100 in what looks a deep draft class in 2022. Plus, you’ll now have one of the best cap room spaces in the league.

Perhaps Seattle should look to amess as many quality picks over the next year or two and start all over.

There could even be another twist in this tale. The Seahawks could make a move for another star quarterback like Derek Carr or DeShaun Watson.

I’m not sure what comes next, but I do know that issues go further than players on the field. We’ve mentioned Seattle’s front office, but head coach Pete Carroll has a role in demise of this team.

He’s now the oldest coach on the NFL at 70. While it’s unlikely that he will also leave before the new season, does he want to be part of a rebuild at this stage of his career?

And after seemingly having no intention of trading Wilson in recent months, can he be trusted? There are a lot of questions the Seahawks need to ask themselves.

They’ve taken a significant step back after losing Wilson. Seattle now needs to completely re-plan and rebuild to save their future.