Cowboys, Raiders, Bears Among the Favorites to Trade for Russell Wilson

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

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Is Russell Wilson ready to move on from the Seattle Seahawks? While Wilson has not officially demanded a trade, there's definitely some smoke coming out of Seattle. And as the famous saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Per Adam Schefter, if Seattle did consider a trade, the only teams Wilson would go to are the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Chicago Bears. After that news broke, DraftKings Sportsbook put out the betting odds for where Wilson will start next season.

As for the favorites, you guessed it, the Raiders, Cowboys, Saints and Bears lead the pack as Wilson’s potential landing spots if he leaves Seattle.

If you look at the odds for Wilson’s next team, the books seem to think he's staying put. They have the Seahawks listed as the overwhelming -1000 favorites to be his home in 2021. But, what’s the fun in that? If the star QB is traded, which team will he end up on? Let’s take a look at the options and the odds.

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Las Vegas Raiders +400

While trading away a franchise QB is never easy, maybe the situation has gotten so bad in Seattle that they want a clean break. If so, the Raiders are the most interesting option of the bunch, since they are one of the only teams that would be able to send a QB back to Seattle.

I could see a deal involving Derek Carr, multiple first-round picks, and possibly a defensive player moving the needle.

Wilson playing in Las Vegas in the classic black and silver would be a sight to see.

Dallas Cowboys +600

This remains unlikely, but from a pure entertainment standpoint, Wilson going to Dallas would be fun. Adding Wilson would immediately make the Cowboys the favorites in the NFC East. Maybe it's the aura of going to a big-name franchise, “America’s Team”, that attracts Wilson.

Dallas does have the 10th pick in this year’s draft, as well as some young assets, especially at the wide receiver position. How about a couple of first-round picks, Michael Gallup, and a young defensive player like Leighton Vander Esch?

It will be interesting to see what the Cowboys do with Dak Prescott, but you can never count out Jerry Jones from making a wild move like this one.

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New Orleans Saints +700

One paper, this is a match made in heaven for both the Saints and the reportedly disgruntled quarterback. Wilson would have weapons galore and get to play under an offensive-minded coach in Sean Payton. But, realistically, the Saints don’t make much sense due to their salary cap issues, as the team is almost $70 million over the cap.

Unless New Orleans makes several big cuts and another team gets involved, I don’t see Wilson going to the Saints.

Chicago Bears +800

With the Bears having the No. 20 pick in the first round of the draft, their best shot at landing a QB who can immediately come in and play is via a trade. And, if there is one team that is willing to go all-in and overpay for a quarterback right now, it’s the Bears. General manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy didn’t get extended, so the pressure is on them to win asap.

For the optimistic Bears fans out there, apparently Wilson does like Chicago.

Peter King had this following nugget about Wilson and the Bears in his Football Morning in America this week:

Jimmy Graham is a good friend of Russell Wilson and has told him good things about the Chicago Bears and the city … Wilson loves the sporting zeal of the city, the love for the Cubs, and the love for the Bears."

The Bears do have some attractive assets, especially on the defensive side of the football. As a Bears fan, I'm all-in on making a move for a QB like Wilson or Deshaun Watson. As the Avengers motto goes, “whatever it takes."

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Others

After the aforementioned teams there’s a big drop off to the rest of the list. Both the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots come in at +3300, while the Washington Football Team is at +5000.

Washington has has been rumored to be interested every single quarterback this offseason, so a couple of bucks on them at +5000 might be worth it.

Carolina also has been thrown out there as a team in the Watson race. There were also some rumors that they might even dangle running back Christian McCaffrey to make it happen. If they decide to switch gears and go for Wilson instead, the odds are definitely enticing.

Lastly, the Patriots still don’t have a starting quarterback and also have the cap space to absorb Wilson’s contract. Bill Belichick is definitely sitting in his office right now surmising a plan to land Wilson or Watson, so I wouldn't count him out.