It’s no secret that the Washington Commanders need a quarterback, and as previously reported, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson would be amenable to a trade to the nation’s capital.
After going into last season with three journeyman backups, the club knows it needs stability and talent at that position. Ryan Fitzpatrick played a couple downs before being lost for the season due to injury. Journeymen Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen were serviceable but hardly impactful.
Head coach Ron Rivera knows his team needs a huge upgrade at the game’s most important position. After winning the NFC East in 2020, albeit with a 7-9 losing record, the team went 7-10 this past season, and a lot of those losses were influenced heavily by poor quarterback play.
Ron Rivera says QB is "one of the most important things that we need to get done and get established" going forward.
— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) January 10, 2021
WFT has plenty of cap space heading into the 2022 season, which makes folks believe they’ll look to upgrade the position via free agency or trade. A name that’s been mentioned repeatedly is Seattle Seahawks superstar Russell Wilson. Wilson just finished his 10th season in the league, all in the Pacific Northwest. But Wilson told the Seahawks he wanted to “explore his options.” The Washington Commanders would like nothing more than for Wilson to become their quarterback.
“We’d like to believe we would be a viable option for a lot of (quarterbacks),” Rivera told The Athletic on Tuesday. “We understand what the capital will take to bring a type (of) player like that here. We believe we have a lot to offer.” pic.twitter.com/FT4SaceERj
— Wizskins (@Itswizskins) February 23, 2022
According to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, the Commanders may be willing to give Wilson the biggest bag in the NFL to acquire his services.
“The Washington Commanders expect to be in the trade market for a veteran quarterback like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins,” Pauline wrote Saturday. “My initial reaction was, ‘Why would Russell Wilson agree to be shipped to Washington?’ The answer was simple — Washington will try to entice a big-name quarterback to the nation’s capital by making him the highest-paid player in the league.”
@JPFinlayNBCS this mean anything? Russ changed his pic from a Sea pic to when he played in VA 👀 pic.twitter.com/W8SztNtxkY
— Nick@Nite (@slick_nickk3) February 22, 2022
Rivera Wants A QB Who’s Makes Good Decisions And Quick-Twitch Ability
In an interview on the John Keim Report podcast Rivera broke down what he wants from his starting quarterback.
“By quick-twitch what we mean is if I see what I need to see, I’m making a decision now, and I have the ability to get it out. Some guys it takes a little bit, OK, I see, but now I get my body into the position, now I got to take this long delivery, whereas, hey, I see it, I throw it.”
Rivera, who coached peak Cam Newton for years, also believes mobility is vital.
“You look at Tom Brady, you see how Brady gets it. The team’s best pass rusher lines up to the left side of their offense, the ball gets snapped, Tom doesn’t stand in the pocket, he starts drifting away from his left side, going to his right, so he’s working away from the pass rusher. And then he delivers the ball, so it’s just enough pocket awareness, mobility to say if they’re gonna line their best pass rusher over here to this side when I take that snap, I’m going to start filtering myself to my left.”
New Orleans #Saints seem to have awfully low odds for this Russell Wilson @bookies bet 🤔 pic.twitter.com/yf3HRfvosl
— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) February 24, 2022
Rivera was lucky enough to draft Cam Newton No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL draft. He and Newton led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2015. Newton displayed that good decision-making and quick-twitch ability that Rivera craves at the position.
No current QB on the Commanders roster possesses any of that in abundance, while Wilson does at the highest of levels.
Wilson Has Virginia Roots:
Wilson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but spent the bulk of his childhood in Richmond, Virginia, which is about two hours from where the Commanders play their home games. Wilson would do wonders for a stale offense that possesses plenty of talent in Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Logan Thomas, JD McKissic and Dyami Brown, but lacks leadership under center.
Washington has a much better offensive line than the Seahawks and a defensive line with four former first-rounders, plus some quality depth. They also play in the very winnable NFC East, with the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants not being world beaters.
I’m sure everybody will be super rational about this. pic.twitter.com/SFnw6gy2C2
— michael phillips (@michaelpinRVA) February 5, 2022
Wilson passed for 3,113 yards and 25 touchdowns (both career lows), in 14 games last season. He missed three games due to a finger injury. But the 33-year-old still has a lot left in the tank. The Commanders need this to happen in a big way, trade for Russ, pay him and let him cook.
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