The Colts’ head boss is reportedly enamored with Super Bowl Champion winning quarterback Russell Wilson, but who isn’t?
According to Insider/Analyst Jordan Schultz, Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay is a ‘huge Russell Wilson fan and would love to trade for him’:
#Colts owner Jim Irsay is a huge Russell Wilson fan and would love to trade for him, a league source says. Indy however, has zero 1st-round picks to bargain with, making a potential trade much more difficult. Wilson, as we know, has a no-trade clause as well. #Seahawks
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 25, 2022
Okay, so which quarterback needy team’s NFL owner isn’t?
And certainly complicating matters is that the Colts don’t currently possess a 2022 first round pick—having already surrendered it in last offseason’s now seemingly failed trade for incumbent starting quarterback Carson Wentz—who appears on his way out of Indy.
That being said, that didn’t stop the Los Angeles Rams last year from acquiring now Super Bowl champion winning quarterback Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster deal from the Detroit Lions last year—as the team gave up its first round picks in 2022 and 2023 instead (draft capital beginning a year later from when the trade was actually made).
Now, will it take a coincidental rendezvous with Colts head coach Frank Reich to meet Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara in a resort in Cabo over some drinks and dinner to get a deal done—like how last year’s Stafford mega-trade actually went down? Who knows.
The point being that just like the Rams, the Colts, despite a slightly depleted hand, cannot be completely ruled out either—it comes down to just how much the team really wants Wilson and vice versa. If the Colts want him bad enough, and if he’s agreeable to relocating to Indianapolis (which is still a big IF—given his rumored wish list to NFL franchises only located in big markets last offseason), then the Horseshoe can still ultimately get it done.
(For what it’s worth, Wilson recently scrubbed his Twitter account of all things ‘Seattle Seahawks’—but that could just be a ‘spring cleaning’ of sorts).
However, for the Colts, acquiring him is a potential franchise altering move.
Even with Wilson coming off somewhat of a down season for his normally high standards, completing 259 of 400 throws (64.8% completion rate) for 3,113 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions during 14 starts—having battled through a later surgically repaired middle finger on his right throwing hand, he’d be a colossal upgrade to Wentz.
The former Super Bowl Champion, Walter Payton Man of the Year Award recipient, NFL Second-Team All-Pro, and 9x NFL Pro Bowler is an elite quarterback, who makes smart football decisions while also generating big plays in the passing game. He’s also mobile, meaning his dual-threat ability would still enable Reich to run his preferred RPOs and play-action.
Trading for Wilson is exactly the type of seismic shift at starting quarterback that could have a Super Bowl-like shock wave for the Colts franchise, jolting them in instant contention for the Lombardi Trophy—just like the acquisitions of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Matthew Stafford previously did for the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Los Angeles Rams respectively—who all have Super Bowl rings to now show for it.
There’s no reason that Irsay shouldn’t love Wilson currently, as he has a super clean image league-wide and remains one of the league’s best quarterbacks—and at only age 33, still figures to have at least 5 years of elite football still left, maybe more.
That being said, if he actually becomes realistically available, it will come down to just how much the Colts want Wilson—as he’ll have serious suitors for his services regardless, as well as whether he and his wife are actually agreeable to living in Indianapolis. Because, just like Stafford, it’ll actually take two to tango here to ultimately get a deal done.