One Team On Russell Wilson's Preferred List Already Bowing Out

The story is common news by now. Russell Wilson delivered a subtle ultimatum to the Seattle Seahawks in the past couple of weeks. Either start taking his input on the organization seriously or be prepared to trade him. He even provided a list of four teams he wouldn't mind going to in the event that happened. A sign he's been thinking about this for a while. One of them is the Chicago Bears. Hence why fans are beyond excited. A future Hall of Fame quarterback has an interest in their team. That is worth celebrating on its own. Of course, it's way too early to jump to conclusions. Seattle hasn't made any sort of indications they're entertaining the idea of trading Wilson. In the event they do, the competition seems to be pretty strong between those four teams.

Or is it?

Not all things may be as equal in this Wilson chase as people think. The Bears are 100% interested in the 32-year old quarterback. The same may not be true of the Dallas Cowboys. Jane Slater who covers them for NFL Network made it pretty apparent the team isn't likely to be aggressive in such a chase. Why? They still believe they can get a long-term deal done with Dak Prescott and would prefer to hang onto the several draft picks it would take to acquire Wilson.

People are so quick to say Dallas could just package Prescott in the deal. No they can't. They would need a ton of cooperation from the quarterback for that. They'd have to franchise tag him, get him to sign the tender contract, and then sign off on a deal to Seattle before anything could possibly happen. Why would Prescott do that when he's about to be a free agent and he can sign with any team he wants?

Bears odds with Russell Wilson go up if Cowboys are out

The word is as many as 10 teams have contacted Seattle about Wilson. No doubt they're hoping they might be able to convince the star quarterback to put them on his list. Presuming he's set on the teams mentioned, then Dallas removing themselves from the equation is good news for Chicago. It means their only competition is the Raiders and Saints. New Orleans should always be taken seriously as a threat. They never fear the bold moves and have done blockbuster deals with Seattle in the past. That being said, the organization is mired in the largest salary cap crunch in NFL history. It'll be a struggle to just get back under the cap this offseason. Never mind trade for another massive contract like the one Russell Wilson carries.

That leaves Las Vegas.

They might be the biggest threat of all. Jon Gruden is a head coach notorious for his finicky nature with quarterbacks. He's already traded Khalil Mack so you know he doesn't fear bold moves. Derek Carr is coming off a good season and has two affordable years left on his contract. The Raiders could easily build a package around him to send back to Seattle. This would hamper their efforts to fix their defense but Gruden isn't the type to care. So if the Bears want Wilson, they need to hope the Raiders and Saints aren't willing to go all the way to get him.