Pat Leonard’s NFL Notes: If Russell Wilson is available, then Giants have to pursue the possibility
Russell Wilson instantly would give the Giants credibility, something this organization hasn’ t had in a long time. If he wants New York and the Seahawks are willing to trade him, then buckle up for some drama this spring. It’ s worth remembering, however, that the Seahawks turned down the Chicago Bears’ offer last offseason of three first-round picks, a third-round...
Russell Wilson instantly would give the Giants credibility, something this organization hasn’t had in a long time.
Wilson’s talent and pedigree precede him. If he wants New York and the Seahawks are willing to trade him, then buckle up for some drama this spring.
Because the Giants would be obligated to discuss that possibility both internally and with Seattle, regardless of whether they actually pulled the trigger on a deal.
The Giants’ current offensive identity is rudderless compared to how it might function with Wilson in shotgun at MetLife Stadium. John Mara has long been searching for a way to catch up with the NFL’s modern offenses.
Wilson would bring the confidence to help shape a better offense. He has the ability to create something out of nothing. And he most definitely would put fans in the seats, something Mara cares about deeply and hasn’t been able to accomplish for years.
It’s worth remembering, however, that the Seahawks turned down the Chicago Bears’ offer last offseason of three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and Seattle’s choice of two big-name starters on the Bears’ roster, according to multiple reports.
Wilson, who has a no-trade clause, asked Seattle for permission to discuss trades directly with other teams last offseason. And the Seahawks denied it, per NFL Network.
Plus he’s scheduled to carry cap hits of $37 million and $40 million in the final two years of his current contract, per overthecap.com, and the Giants are so cap-strapped that they’re running out of player deals to restructure to spare a few bucks.
So the price in a Wilson trade would be exorbitant. And that’s only if Seahawks GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll were willing to entertain the idea in the first place. And if they did trade him, he’d cost a fortune.
That’s a lot of ifs. Not to mention there would be other suitors to contend with, maybe even the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, who were big-game QB hunters last offseason and who now hold three first-round picks in April’s NFL Draft.
The Giants do hold two top 10 picks themselves in a draft projected as thin on top talent, including at quarterback. So if there were a year to package that capital in a trade for a star player, this is it.
Still, the Giants’ roster remains in desperate need of top talent and depth at key positions all over the depth chart, from edge rusher to offensive line to corner and on and on.
Trading draft capital would leave the cupboard bare. The Giants would be asking Wilson to be their great eraser of those deficiencies.
The only problem is that Wilson, 33, hasn’t even been able to mask a poor offensive line and roster shortcomings on the Seahawks. He is 4-7 as a starter this season. His Seahawks are 5-9.
He wasn’t able to escape injury this fall, and he’s no spring chicken, even if he has aspirations of playing for a long time.
He’s only gone 3-5 in the playoffs since his back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013-14. He hasn’t been back to the NFC Championship Game since.
The most recent Wilson-Giants connection came from a report a few weeks ago by independent reporter Jordan Schultz. He said Wilson would strongly consider a trade to the Giants, Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints. NFL Network backed that list up, too.
The Giants’ idea is not a new one. Colin Cowherd reported in February 2019 that he’d heard Wilson’s wife, Ciara, a singer and entertainer, wanted to live in New York and so Wilson’s football career might take him East.
Interestingly, though, when Wilson wanted out of Seattle this past offseason, the Giants weren’t on the four-team list reported by ESPN. His list at that time included the Bears, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys and the Saints.
Notice the only overlap on Wilson’s two lists in the last 12 months: New Orleans.
The Saints are scrambling post-Drew Brees to fix their quarterback position. Sean Payton loves Wilson’s game (don’t most coaches?), and Wilson would be pairing himself with one of the NFL’s top offensive minds on a sure playoff team.
The Eagles aren’t on any of Wilson’s lists but they might intrigue him from a talent and competitive standpoint, too. The unanswered question there, obviously, is whether GM Howie Roseman will ride with Jalen Hurts after contending for a playoff spot or if he’d view Wilson or Deshaun Watson as the player who would take his team over the top.
All of that potential competition doesn’t mean the Giants shouldn’t explore a match. They’re so lost on offense, any move to improve their production must be explored.
So few players view the Giants as a destination nowadays, too, that if Wilson actually picked the Giants, that alone would boost the franchise’s standing regardless of whether he won.
Giving Daniel Jones one more year with a healthier, improved roster remains the more likely outcome. Joe Judge seems earnest in his support of the young quarterback into 2022 assuming he fully recovers from his neck injury, which the team expects.
But with Dave Gettleman headed out, Jones no longer will have the GM who drafted him running the show. And that means no preordained allegiance to anything or anyone except improving the product on the field.
That will mean a call to Seattle, even if the Seahawks ultimately refuse to engage or Wilson ends up taking his talents elsewhere.
TESTING, TESTING…
The NFL had 320 players test positive for COVID-19 in a 12-day span between Monday, Dec. 13, and Thursday, when 46 more players went on the Covid reserve list. NFL Network reported the majority of the 320 positives have little or no symptoms as the Omicron variant sprints through the league.
The rash of positives prompted three postponements last weekend and meant the NFL had games played on five of the seven days during Christmas week. Only Wednesday and Friday lacked live televised pro football.
Giants players’ union representative Logan Ryan said the past couple weeks have “been chaos” and that “there’s fear” and “there’s stress.” He was joining an NFLPA call Thursday to discuss the “ever-changing” protocols that Ryan admitted “are very confusing for everybody.”
Ryan, who just got over COVID himself a month ago, didn’t personally seem to understand the NFL’s new adjusted testing protocol that abruptly changed, seemingly designed to help complete the regular season. The league and union stopped weekly testing of vaccinated players and staff in favor of less frequent “targeted testing” of sample groups.
“You worry about not testing that everyone is just going to have it and not know about it,” Ryan said. “It’s almost like you’re choosing between health and safety or getting paid, and those are tough, tough choices for anyone to make. Do I want to sacrifice my health to get paid? It may be the health of others, it may be the health of family members and older people and my grandparents and those, so it’s a serious conversation.”
FOR SALE SIGN
New Florida head coach Billy Napier is targeting Giants offensive line coach Rob Sale for his new Gators staff, per The Athletic. Sale worked for Napier at Louisiana before joining Judge with the Giants. Judge and Napier worked together on Alabama’s staff in 2011.
Sale presumably will either get a new job or a raise out of Napier’s pursuit. If he leaves, Judge would be seeking his fourth offensive line coach entering his third season, following Marc Colombo, Dave DeGuglielmo and Sale. Judge would do well in that case to consider promoting assistant offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson, who has put in his time and has the players’ respect.
THEY SAID IT
“…” — The full extent of Giants practice squad offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson’s public comments since signing on Sept. 30: nothing. The team has not made the controversial and disgraced former first-round pick available once despite weekly — and often daily — requests.