Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bears fans have been through enough. Whether we are talking about the past decades or the past days, when the hope of a possible landing of Russell Wilson was taken away and replaced by the cruel reality of Andy Dalton.
And while Bears fans seem ready to move on and accept that their team once again won the quarterback position, ESPN’s Adam Schefter refuses to let us.
On Wednesday, Schefter said he doesn’t think Wilson’s stay in Seattle is a done deal. He insinuated that something closer to the NFL draft could happen next month.
When Schefter joined ESPN Stand up on Thursday morning he was asked if his thinking had changed by one day to allow everything to settle down.
“No different,” said Schefter. “This is a situation that should be monitored closely as we get close to the draft.”
“This is a situation that we need to keep a close eye on when we get close to the draft.”@AdamSchefter on a possible Russell Wilson transaction. pic.twitter.com/GNj7i4fj1f
– Get up (@GetUpESPN) March 18, 2021
Seattle doesn’t sound like a team ready to rebuild, so trading in Wilson without having a quarterback they are keen on replacing him this season doesn’t sound like a realistic option. And Chicago doesn’t have an option for them right now, except possibly Dalton.
“When Seahawks CEO John Schneider has done due diligence on all of the top quarterback prospects, and he knows that every package he gets includes a quarterback he wants, or the ability to get a quarterback he wants, ”said Schefter. The bears have the 20th overall pick. With that choice, they don’t get a top rated prospect. They don’t have another quarterback on that roster that they could acquire. “
The Bears reportedly offered three first round picks, a third round, and two players in a package for Wilson, but the Seahawks ultimately declined. And that probably has to do with the fact that they don’t want to rebuild. If they moved away from Wilson, they would need a viable replacement.
“While the Bears were aggressively pursuing Russell Wilson, there really was nothing they could offer the Seahawks that would change their stance at this point.
“We may have a different story in six weeks.”
Schefter has been very careful with his wording throughout this situation, noting that this is the state of affairs “right now,” meaning that he is clearly not closing doors on any possibilities at this point.
But he also said the four teams on Wilson’s off-season shortlist have moved up to the quarterback position, meaning Wilson may have to be open to expanding that list unless he wants to stay in Seattle. Or maybe that means waiting for the Seahawks to finally give in to the draft.
Don’t shoot the messenger, but it doesn’t sound like this Wilson trade discussion isn’t over yet.