🏈 Three Options For Russ & The Seahawks

Martin Rogers presents three options to resolve Russell Wilson’s current displeasure with the Seattle Seahawks. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]( [STORY IMAGE AD]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Russell Wilson’s dissatisfaction with the way things are playing out in Seattle is boiling down to an arm-wrestling match between the two sides that can have multiple outcomes ... we take a look inside pre-draft interviews with NFL Draft prospects ... and we are treated to a feel-good video involving a dog running onto the field during a recent soccer match in Bolivia. In Seattle Seahawks news, the franchise has re-signed running back Alex Collins, who spent time on the active roster and the practice squad last season. Linebacker K.J. Wright was named the city of Seattle’s Male Sports Star of the Year. And the team made three additions to the coaching staff for 2021. Anything else? Oh yeah, there is something is going on with Russell Wilson. Fine, I’m being facetious here because, as we all know, there is only one story in Seattle and it’s the one that also happens to be the biggest current talking point in the National Football League. Wilson and his dissatisfaction with various factors – coupled with the possibility he might seek to leave Seattle – is the talk of the town. Whenever these situations arise, there are nuances and intricacies but in most such cases of dispute, the leverage favors the party with the greater numbers of options. In this instance, that’s Wilson. [STORY IMAGE 1] “There are three ways to resolve Russell Wilson’s grievances,” [wrote Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone](. “Two of them are bad for the Seahawks.” After a mini media flurry that began with [an interview Wilson gave Dan Patrick]( after the Super Bowl and continued with reports of his unhappiness last week, the narrative is in full flow now. It’s a bigger story than Deshaun Watson’s tiring of Houston, arguably a bigger one than Aaron Rodgers’ annoyance a year ago, and certainly is more juicy than anything else you were diving into to pass the offseason time. It is boiling down to an arm-wrestling match that can have multiple outcomes. It’s not much fun for Seattle’s still-silent front office, but it is entertaining as heck for everyone else. The first option is that Wilson stays, and is appeased by being given more influence and input into how the Seattle offense is run and extra license to get creative in the QB kitchen. “Let Russ Cook” was the war cry for much of last season, a concept embraced initially by Carroll but then largely rejected after a spate of interceptions contributed to the crumbling of the team’s outstanding start. [STORY IMAGE 2]( Wilson, [according to The Athletic]( was so frustrated when he felt his concerns were not heeded he stormed out of a meeting with Seahawks coaches ahead of a Thursday night clash with the Arizona Cardinals. “(Carroll and Wilson) have got to talk to each other,” [former All-Pro Brandon Marshall said on First Things First](. “I don’t understand why they can’t work this out. If Russell Wilson is telling you (he is) growing and maturing and wants to start airing this out, listen to him. Go down with Russell Wilson.” If Seattle decides not to go the path of giving some ground, it could start to get seriously messy. If they don’t let Russ cook the whole time, they probably have to consider letting him fire up the grill on a pretty regular basis. Because the second option is that Wilson remains a Seahawk, but that nothing much changes in the system. That outcome is the most unpredictable one, but an unsettled Wilson playing in a tactical methodology he doesn’t like doesn’t have a lot of appeal for Seattle fans, whose booming hopes for the past campaign gradually dwindled until another unsatisfactory ending, a home playoff defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. Since Wilson was drafted in 2012, the Seahawks have won a Super Bowl and should have gotten another one. But they haven’t reached the NFC Championship since the 2014 season and if this is as good as it gets, there would still be the sense the organization has wasted the era of the best quarterback in franchise history. [STORY IMAGE 3] The final choice is a trade, the prospect of which will keep the NFL rumor mill ticking until it is resolved, one way or another. In regard to any move, Wilson holds the cards there, too. He has a no-trade clause that would allow him to veto any switch to a franchise he doesn’t wish to be paired with. According to Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, the player has not requested a trade but would only agree to be moved to one of four teams: the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders or Chicago Bears. That’s a hardball power play right there. Not to everyone’s taste, sure, but a clear signal he’s not messing around with his wish for a new way of doing things. “I thought it was really bad form for Russell Wilson and his agent to put four teams out there, two of which have an incumbent QB,” [FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless said on Undisputed](. “It was out of bounds. It looked bad.” [STORY IMAGE 4] It may have looked bad, but it turned up the heat on Seattle and got the NFL world thinking seriously about what it might look like if Wilson was no longer with the team. As for the trade partners, the Saints have brutal salary cap issues that hamstrings them, even with Drew Brees yet to formally announce his retirement. Anything involving the Raiders would likely feature a Derek Carr swap, yet Las Vegas has some cap troubles also. Whether the Bears could summon enough personnel and draft capital to tempt Seattle remains highly doubtful. Which leaves the Cowboys, the most fun discussion point of the four, if only because that trade would be an absolute blockbuster if it did take place. It may not be realistic, but it’s juicy beyond belief just to think about. Would Wilson be given the chance to “cook” in Dallas? Yeah, that’s kind of how they do things. It’s just talk for now and so the saga continues. Wilson has made his side clear and is undoubtedly one of the elite QBs in the sport. Carroll, having presided over eight 10-win seasons in nine years, has fuel for believing his way deserves to be beyond reproach, too. There are plenty of options, plenty of possibilities, yet only one answer that offers a quick and easy solution. Wilson wants to cook. Carroll doesn’t really want to let him. Compared to the alternatives, he might be left with no choice. [STORY IMAGE 5]( Here’s what others have said ... Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal: “Don’t buy a new (Russell Wilson) jersey just yet. None of this may happen. It’s quite possible Wilson winds up where he’s always been, in Seattle, as the quarterback of the Seahawks, a club he led to a Super Bowl title in the 2013 season. Seattle wants Wilson back, Wilson isn’t a hard out, and Pete Carroll’s squad feels like the safest money at the moment. Still, the situation feels…flexible.” Nick Wright, First Things First: “If I'm Russell Wilson I'm like, 'we gave your way a long, fair shot. Now, can we give my way a long enough shot to where I'm allowed to have a bad month of football before we say it can't work?’” Colin Cowherd, The Herd: “‘Let Russ Cook’ is out. ‘Put heat on Pete’ is in. Russell Wilson played Mr. Nice guy forever. Tom Brady played it for 20 years and in the end, they took advantage of him.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - What are the wildest questions teams ask NFL Draft prospects during interviews? [ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum]( takes us inside team’s pre-draft interviews. - Blake Griffin and other players of a certain age are finding that in today’s NBA, if you can’t adapt, you can’t fit in. [Sports Illustrated’s Chris Herring]( explains why aging gracefully in the NBA has never been harder. - Few teams are as creative with the salary cap as the New Orleans Saints, but this offseason will be the toughest test. [The Ringer’s Nora Princiotti]( explains why the Saints are a perfect test case for the NFL’s salary cap gymnastics. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( There are good stories. There are great stories. And then there is this story. During a recent soccer match in Bolivia, a stray dog by the name of Cachito interrupted the game by running onto the field and carrying a player’s cleat in his mouth. The game was paused, and Tigre player Raul Castro eventually lifted up the dog and carried him to a police officer. But the story doesn’t end there. A couple of days later, local animal rescuers spotted the dog after he was hit by a car and brought to a local shelter. Castro heard the news of the dog’s injury and went ahead and adopted the dog. What a beautiful ending to a great story! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] North Carolina at Syracuse (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Garrison Brooks and the North Carolina Tar Heels take on Buddy Boeheim and the Syracuse Orange in a much-anticipated ACC showdown. WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) The Miz clashes with Bobby Lashley for the WWE Title this Monday on Raw. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) Austin Reaves and the Oklahoma Sooners go up against Cade Cunningham and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( North Carolina at Syracuse: Syracuse +2 Here’s a fun fact that most people outside of the Syracuse basketball program probably aren’t aware of: The Orange are 11-1 at the Carrier Dome this season. Outside of the Carrier Dome, Jim Boeheim’s team is just 2-7, which includes back-to-back ACC losses to Duke and Georgia Tech. The Orange host a North Carolina team that is coming off an impressive come-from-behind win over Florida State on Saturday, but the Tar Heels have not been particularly good away from home either, sporting a 3-6 mark on the road. FOX Bet lists Carolina as a two-point favorite in this one, which means taking Syracuse at +2 looks like a nice play. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Always persevere, always have a great perspective, and always have a great purpose in your life.” — Russell Wilson [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900