Analysis: 6 Trade Proposals For Seahawks to Replace Russell Wilson

With Wilson heading to the Mile High City, Seattle faces major questions at the quarterback position. If the team plans to pursue a trade for a veteran starter, five names stand out as realistic possibilities.

For the first time in a decade, the Seahawks find themselves searching for a new franchise quarterback after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, and three veteran players.

With a major hole to fill under center following Wilson's departure and only Drew Lock and Jacob Eason currently on the roster, Seattle has already been linked to Houston star Deshaun Watson and reportedly met with draft prospects Malik Willis and Matt Corral at the NFL combine. In coming days, general manager John Schneider will be actively working the phones exploring different options on the trade market and in free agency as the team tries to figure out a plan at quarterback.

Looking at players who may be available via trade, which quarterbacks could be on the Seahawks' radar? And what will it cost to acquire them? Here are six trade proposals Schneider could make to improve the position post-Wilson, including a deal packaging a boatload of picks to the Texans for Watson:

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, and 2023 third-round pick to Texans for Deshaun Watson

As has been reported for the past several days, Seattle has looked into the possibility of trading for Watson, who avoided criminal charges for allegations of sexual misconduct on Friday, thus opening the door for potential suitors to make a deal. All along, Houston has wanted three first-round picks minimum to move the three-time Pro Bowler and with teams such as New Orleans and Carolina already reportedly making offers to acquire him, it's possible general manager Nick Caserio will be able to fetch that asking price for one of the NFL's most talented quarterbacks.

What makes Watson worth that cost? While his off-field baggage might scare some teams off and he's not out of the woods yet in regard to his legal issues, he's only 26 years old and led the NFL in passing yards and yards per attempt in 2020. He's one of the league's best deep ball passers and also possesses elite athleticism for the position, as he rushed for nearly 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first four seasons. In terms of youth, talent, and production, there isn't a better quarterback option available right now.

Among teams who have been linked to Watson, the Seahawks have three first round picks and three second round picks over the next two years after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos and they also have nearly $50 million in cap space, so they may be the team best equipped to pay that price. But will general manager John Schneider actually be willing to do that with so many other needs to address on both sides of the football? It seems unlikely, especially considering he could be suspended for a portion of next season.

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 second-round pick, 2023 second-round pick, and 2023 third-round pick to Vikings for Kirk Cousins

Interestingly, the Vikings have been rumored as a potential suitor for Watson's services and with only one year left on his contract, there have been persistent grumblings about the team trying to shop Cousins. With a new head coach in Kevin O'Connell in town, the franchise may want to start over under center either with a veteran upgrade or an incoming rookie.

While the 33-year old Cousins isn't an elite signal caller by any means and hasn't been able to get the Vikings over the hump with the exception of a deep playoff run in 2019, he's a three-time Pro Bowler who has 223 passing touchdowns on his resume. He's been extremely consistent production-wise, throwing for more than 4,000 yards in six of the past seven seasons and eclipsing 25 passing touchdowns in each of those seasons. He also has thrown fewer than seven interceptions in two of the past three seasons, which would pique Carroll's interest.

If there's a stumbling block for a trade happening between Seattle and Minnesota, it's Cousins' $45 million cap hit. With a $35 million base salary in 2022, the Seahawks would have to absorb all of that if they traded for him. That's the same amount of money Watson would be owed next year and quite frankly, Cousins isn't the same caliber of quarterback and he's seven years older. For a deal to be worked out here, an extension would likely need to be agreed upon to facilitate a trade.

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 second-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, and 2023 third-round pick to Falcons for Matt Ryan

A former NFL MVP and four-time Pro Bowler who led the Falcons to the Super Bowl, Ryan has had a superior career to Cousins and may be in the Hall of Fame discussion someday. But he will turn 37 years old in May and is coming off of one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, so Atlanta may be willing to jumpstart its rebuild by trading the veteran quarterback.

Now well into his mid-30s, Ryan threw just 20 touchdown passes last year, tying for the second-lowest total of his career in 14 NFL seasons. He also failed to surpass 4,000 passing yards for the first time since 2010 and averaged just 7.1 yards per pass attempt. But in his defense, the Falcons traded Julio Jones to the Titans and Calvin Ridley left the team midway through the season for mental health reasons, leaving him with an undesirable supporting cast away from first-round pick Kyle Pitts.

Though Ryan wouldn't be a long-term solution for the Seahawks and his best football is behind him at this point, he would be a better option than Lock and would benefit immensely from throwing to star receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. If there's a reason this move won't happen, and an expensive reason at that, the Falcons just re-structured Ryan's contract and they would absorb a massive $55 million dead cap charge, making such a trade unlikely if not impossible.

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 third-round pick, 2023 third-round pick to 49ers for Jimmy Garoppolo

Despite nearly leading the 49ers to their second Super Bowl in three years, Garoppolo likely won't be back next year with 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance waiting in the wings. Coming off shoulder surgery and carrying a $26.9 million cap hit next year, he won't be easy to move and landing reasonable compensation in return could be a tall task for general manager John Lynch.

When healthy, Garoppolo has been a serviceable game manager for San Francisco and can be a top-15 caliber signal caller with a viable run game complementing him. He tossed 27 touchdown passes during the 2019 season while leading the team to a 13-3 record and has completed at least 67 percent of his pass attempts each of the previous three seasons. While interceptions have been problematic at times, he did lead the NFL in yards per completion last year and still may have room to improve at 30 years of age.

This would be far from an ideal scenario for the Seahawks, who would incur a $25.6 million cap charge for a quarterback who has never been a Pro Bowler or All-Pro while also giving up a pair of day two picks to a bitter division rival. But if they aren't sold on Lock or any of the incoming rookie quarterbacks from this class, he could be a decent stop gap before the team pursues a long-term option in 2023.

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 third-round pick, 2023 fourth-round pick to Ravens for Tyler Huntley

Given Lamar Jackson's running style and the punishment he takes, the Ravens may not have any interest in moving Huntley, a former undrafted signee out of Utah. Performing admirably in his first NFL game action, he proved to be at least a capable spot starter in four games replacing the MVP last season.

Though he went 1-3 as a starter and threw more interceptions than touchdowns in those games, Huntley completed 64 percent of his passes and nearly lead Baltimore to upsets over the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers while leading an offense plagued by injuries. His mobility also creates problems for opposing defenses, as he rushed for 294 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground and regularly escaped the pocket to extend passing plays.

Trading draft assets away for a quarterback with only 193 career pass attempts on his resume would be risky for the Seahawks. But Huntley possesses a similar skill set to Wilson with the ability to beat teams with his arm and his legs and with him being only 24 years old, he should only be scratching the surface of his potential as a quarterback prospect. If available for a pair of mid-round picks, it would be worth the roll of the dice and he could compete against Lock and/or an incoming rookie for the starting job in August.

Trade Proposal: Seahawks trade 2022 fourth-round pick to Eagles for Gardner Minshew

Not surprisingly, many fans in the Pacific Northwest have been pitching the idea of the Seahawks pursuing Minshew, who starred at Washington State running coach Mike Leach's Air Raid offense. Last season, he appeared in four games as a backup for the Eagles, throwing four touchdowns and one interception in limited spot duty replacing starter Jalen Hurts.

Only 25 years old, Minshew enjoyed a stellar rookie season with the Jaguars in 2019, throwing 21 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions with posting a 6-6 record as a starter. However, he wound up losing his starting job the following season despite throwing 16 touchdowns and once the team drafted Trevor Lawrence first overall in last year's draft, the writing was on the wall for him in Jacksonville and he was dealt to Philadelphia for a conditional sixth-round pick.

Keeping that trade in mind, the Seahawks may not want to give up more than a fifth-round pick. But to get the Eagles to part with Minshew, a young quarterback with enough tools to be a starter in the right scheme with the right weapons around him, John Schneider may have to step up to the plate with a fourth to acquire him. In the final year of his rookie deal, he'd carry an affordable $2.54 million cap hit and could be thrown into a competition against Lock for the starting job in camp.