Russell Wilson won’t hold out or skip voluntary workouts

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Russell Wilson wants a new contract by April 15. Or else.

Or else what? Here’s what the “or else” won’t be. Russell Wilson won’t be holding out. He won’t even be skipping any voluntary workouts.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Wilson will be present on April 15 and every day for every workout, meeting, and practice.

So why the deadline? Wilson, per the source, simply wants to prepare for the season with zero distractions. The deadline was provided to the team in late January, we’re told, and Wilson has given the team a full and fair effort to finalize a contract that would extend his stay beyond the conclusion of the 2019 season.

The ball remains, until April 15, in the team’s court. After that, Wilson apparently will shut down all negotiations until after the season, at which time the Seahawks would be able to hold his rights only via the use of a franchise tag that, based on his cap number of $25.286 million, would amount to $30.34 million for 2020.

40 responses to “Russell Wilson won’t hold out or skip voluntary workouts

  1. I said all of this yesterday. The media and bad fans making out to be that he was going to hold was ridiculous. I knew he was just going to stop negotiations and focus on football.

  2. He wants new deal by April 15h, or what? The Brown and Bell antics ruffled some feathers but I’m not sure the rest of the team owners will be as passive as Rooney. Interesting to see how this will develop.

  3. Russel Wilson is a very good QB and deserves to be paid, plus he has leverage.
    He’s young enough that the team should want to keep him.
    The only reason to trade him is if the team is old with a bad core and needs a few years to rebuild.
    Then having a good QB doesn’t really help as they aren’t a playoff team.

    I’d pay him, and try and rebuild, because finding a good QB, as opposed to a Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco type QB , is hard. A Tier 2 QB is heavily dependent on having a good team to support him. Better to pay Russel Wilson 38MM than to pay a Tier 2 QB 24MM. That extra 14MM is worth it.
    The only way I’d let Russel Wilson go is if I could draft an Andy Dalton with a 2nd or 3rd round pick, and save 37MM/year for 4 years. Then I could use that to keep my good players. That only works if you have good players worth keeping.

  4. Smart QB, best offensive weapon on the team and without him Seattle reverts to their forgotten status.

    Back up the Brinks truck!

  5. $33M for 4-5 years? Still difficult to see this as the best use of sacred cap space for a good GM and a good HC. Maybe the Seahawks should spend $5 on some popcorn instead, and sit and watch while this plays out.

  6. I think they need to change “voluntary” workouts. They aren’t voluntary if you are chastised by the fans and the media for skipping them.

  7. This wasn’t a threat to the team to do a deal or else. This was a deadline to say hey let’s work this out before here or wait until the next offseason. He did that last time him and Mark Rogers negotiated his deal, and it got done at the last minute. Deadlines make things happen in these environments and puts pressure on both sides to try to reach that deadline so something could happen but I’m going to bet probably not. All I know is Seahawks are going to end up paying him and not letting him go. How they do that is yet to be determined.

  8. I would think every player in this tier would gladly take a franchise tag. Why not? It’s crazy money, and how much do you need? It was different for Rodgers in Green Bay. Rodgers never said anything. He didn’t need to. The Packers made it clear they WANTED to compensate him at a high rate. He never manipulated anything, trusted the Packers, trusted the process, and was rewarded accordingly. The current trend of egotistical hold-outs is a bad trend.

  9. I expect russle will be taking a step back. He has already conveniently if he doesnt get a new contract it will be a distraction to him. Yikes!

  10. How much leverage does Wilson have if he wants to be the highest paid QB, and the Sea Dorks can pay him ten million less than what Rodgers get this year and 5 million less than that by franchising him next year. Seattle can therefore refuse to negotiate and save $15 million over the next two seasons. If he fails to win the Super Bowl in the next two years, let him go and start over. They may even get rid of him after the 2019 season if they fail to make the playoffs. It is laughable when Wilson demands to be paid megabucks when his team ranks 25th in the league in passing yards (215 yards per game). The Frisco 49ers, with a second string and 3rd string QB starting 13 games, ranks 14th (265 yards per game) in passing yards.

  11. It seems clear from an outsider that they are willing to let Wilson continue without the mega contract he wants. They are a run-first team now and by the time they no longer control his rights, he’ll be 33. Personally, I think he’s an amazing player…but the fact that they have let him reach his last year speaks volumes.

  12. rogerdodger99 says:
    April 3, 2019 at 10:29 am
    He wants new deal by April 15h, or what? The Brown and Bell antics ruffled some feathers but I’m not sure the rest of the team owners will be as passive as Rooney. Interesting to see how this will develop.
    ——————————————————————
    Or what? The Seahawks may have to franchise him and he could hold out well into the season to prove a point. Then he’d still be a free-agent the following year.

  13. Wilson is in a position of strength. I love it. He’s already lifetime-rich with another 20+ million (pre-tax) in the bag this coming year, after which the team’s choice is to let him hit the market as an UFA, or pay him 30M for a year. Then probably pushing 40M the next year if they used the tag again. The ONLY reason to go that route from a team’s perspective would be if you didn’t know what you’ve got (Cousins) or if you had a contending team in its prime but you could see the window closing so you max the short window then let him walk. Neither applies in his case.

    I’d say the Seahawks have until April 15 to be SMART about this. If they don’t come to terms it leads them down a really stoopid path.

    QB’s are really the only case where the FT seems to be at least somewhat “fair” due to their longer careers and lower injury risk. Otherwise I think it’s abusive to the players and I bet it gets a major overhaul in the next CBA.

  14. Wilson is in a great position he’s already set for life if he gets crippled today. Pay him his next deal now or pay more after the season.
    They’re already paying him a lot so it’s not like they’ll get value by making him play out the last year of a rookie deal.
    Tag him in the off-season and send the message that you’re too cheap of an organization to give the deserved long term deal to your super bowl winning franchise QB

  15. AB should take a lesson how to negotiate a new contract while still under contract. Hawks have to find a way to resign him.

  16. Zero playoff wins since the legion of boom ended. I don’t see that trend changing if they tie up their cap space on Russell Wilson.

  17. Why would Seattle not want to do a long term deal now?
    Isn’t the alternative to have a couple years of franchise tag cap stupidity and then watch him walk due to bad will generated by this?

  18. *eats popcorn*

    Watching this mess unfold is comical. I hope that Wilson get’s paid what he thinks he is due. It will keep the Seahawks and their bandwagon in check for years to come.

  19. Lots of haterade in here. At least he’s not being a douche like Brown, Bell or Earl Thomas. He deserves credit for that.

  20. To me, the OR ELSE is pretty simple. Pay him now, or Franchise him later for 31M in 2020, then 37M in 2021 and then he is gone.

  21. All the negativity here is funny, considering the guy is trying to go about this the RIGHT way – he’s made it clear he wants to get paid, but he’s set a date when he and the team will shelve the talks so they can focus on football. People are always debating whether athletes are in it to win or in it for the money, Wilson knows the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

  22. Time to groom the next new Russell. Ship him to the Cards so Kyler can come and start the new Legion of Groom for the Hawks. RW has peaked, not gonna get anything more spectacular for the upgraded price. Whisper your magic Pete!

  23. Wilson’s contract has already hamstrung the Seahawks. He loses more pieces every year because of how much money he makes. As a Rams fan, I hope he gets the biggest contract in history and his OL and D continue to struggle. I also hope the Rams draft Goff’s successsor this year and dont extend him. The future of the NFL is not about giving mid level starters(like Goff) a fifth of your cap. Russell has to do way more with way less cause of the money he makes. He’d be better off taking less money and having better players and not having to be Superman to win.

  24. He’s a good QB, but he is NOT the best in the league and certainly doesn’t deserve to be paid like the best. It’s a good thing he’s athletic because he’s going to need all the escape ability he can get to avoid getting murdered due to having third rate offensive linemen.

  25. Maybe he plays the one year, Brees retires, and the Saints scoop him. Sure would beat Bridgewater as QB.

  26. Russell Wilson is top 3 in this league. Those putting Tom at 42 and Phillip shot put Rivers ahead of him are just haters. The problem is, what does Wilson want? I’m tired of seeing the Seahawks as a wildcard on the road playoff team. He seems to be ok with that….so my question is….Can Carroll find another QB?

  27. If you’ve got a top-5 QB – you pay him market – and figure out the rest. How many SB winners have we seen with QB’s not at least somewhere around the top-10?

    Wilson may not the best QB in football, but he’s miles ahead of the Kirk Cousins/Nick Foles of the world. 75 wins in 7 seasons; 6 pro bowls; 35 tds against 7 picks last year – and he’s a 4th quarter playmaker too. Plus, yes, he’s kind of a weird dude off the field, but you’re not going to hear about him in any kind of trouble – ever. You’d be crazy to let someone like that go.

    Salary cap has tended to drift upward over time – and w the Amazons of the world getting into sports licensing, the TV money is only going to increase (all the TV deals expire in ’22) . . . smart move is to lock up your franchise QB. I’d be stunned if it went any other way.

  28. Wilson may not the best QB in football, but he’s miles ahead of the Kirk Cousins/Nick Foles of the world.
    _____________

    Well that’s the $150 million question now is it…how much better is he than Kirk Cousins? Is in the same league as Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers?

    I guess the point is, with all the holes his salary would open up on the roster, is he good enough to carry the team?

    Lest we forget, what made those SB teams of the Seahawks great was more their defense and rushing by Beast Mode….

  29. wide666technique says:

    April 3, 2019 at 10:32 pm
    Well that’s the $150 million question now is it…how much better is he than Kirk Cousins? Is in the same league as Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers?

    I guess the point is, with all the holes his salary would open up on the roster, is he good enough to carry the team?

    Lest we forget, what made those SB teams of the Seahawks great was more their defense and rushing by Beast Mode….
    ————————————–
    He’s head and shoulders above Kirk Cousins. The only thing Kirk does statistically better than Wilson is throw for more yards. But do yards equate to wins- NO. He’s won more games than any other QB EVER, so he’s better than Rogers, Brady and Brees in the most important statistic in football, that’s wins. No he doesn’t have more SBs than Tom brady (Don’t think anyone will come close to that). But he’s a winner and will continue to win. He’s won with less and won with a great team. He’s better than good enough to carry his team. Look at 2015-2017. Defense wasn’t great those years, Lynch was either hurt or not on the team. Still went to the playoffs every year but 2017 (he was considered an MVP candidate that year btw). So yes he’s worth 141 Million Dollars over the next 4 years (Seahawks don’t do contracts passed 4 years).

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