The Denver Broncos have secured Russell Wilson in a phenomenal trade with the Seattle Seahawks. After ten years with the Seahawks, Russell Wilson is heading to Denver. Before the trade was finalized, Wilson had to sign a waiver to override his no-trade clause. A no-trade clause is when a player can not be traded to another club/team without their consent. 

The Seahawks had a rough 2021-2022 season, going just 7-10 while missing the playoffs. However, after trading Wilson away, they now have a cap space of $218,796,317. Not to mention they received the 2022 – First, 2022 – Second, 2023 – First, and 2023 – Second round picks from the Broncos. This is an incredible position the Seahawks are in because they can get a quarterback (QB) and other positions needed to turn around their program. 

Speaking of getting a new QB, on March 16th the new league started. For those of you who don’t know, when the new league of the NFL starts, a player who is a free agent is eligible to sign with a new club or franchise. With this being said, the Seahawks have a wide variety of free agents or draftees to choose from. The Seahawks were rumored to be showing interest in Deshaun Watson and Marcus Mariota. But just recently they came out and said they are confident in Drew Luck and what he brings to the table.

Even though Drew Lock is being considered for the QB position in Seattle, there are roughly six other candidates that could potentially take his spot. A couple of them are Taylor Heinicke, Geno Smith, Gardner Minshew, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, and Baker Mayfield. As we wait and see who Seattle decides on, let’s shift our focus to Houston.

The Houston Texans and Deshaun Watson have been going back and forth about where Watson will end up. As of March 11, 2022, Watson was not charged with any of the sexual allegations filed against him. After this happened, teams worked fast to draw up trades and present them to Houston. Teams like the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers have shown interest in Deshaun Watson. The Saints just lost Drew Brees to retirement, so they need a field general like Watson to help boost their team. The Panthers have been struggling to keep a good QB, but with Watson’s help they can go extremely far.

The Indianapolis Colts have also been in need of a longtime QB, but when they requested to have a meeting with Watson, the Texans shut that idea down. However, after all that drama, the Browns have acquired Watson by giving Houston their 2022 – First, 2023 – First, 2024 – First, 2023 – Third, 2024 – Fourth round picks.

This trade may seem overwhelming, but you have to remember that Watson is a $35 million salary cap player. This means that he is worth a lot of money despite his now resolved legal issues. Even though he was cleared by the jury of his charges, there are still some doubters of Watson and he replies with “I’m just going to keep fighting to rebuild my name and rebuild my appearance in the community. And on the legal side, handle what we need to handle. But also ready to get on the field, and prep for that.”

Now some may be thinking, what about Mayfield? Unfortunately, the relationship between the Browns and Baker Mayfield has been on the edge for a while. Mayfield has stated “It’s in the mutual interest of both sides for us to move on. The relationship is too far [gone] to mend. It’s in the best interests of both sides to move on.” Now with Watson on the team, Mayfield will surely be traded in no time.

There are three teams that Mayfield could potentially play for; the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Tennessee Titans, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All these teams have one thing in common, they need a long-lasting QB. Now the Steelers have lost their long-time QB of 18 years, Big Ben, and are in need of someone to fill that spot. The Titans have been struggling with Ryan Tannehill and would prefer a QB with better skills than him. And finally, the Bucs have Tom Brady, who just came out of retirement, but no one knows how long he will be there. 

With all the free agency drama, there’s more to come. On April 28th, the 2022 NFL Draft will begin. This means that the young stars from college are going to make it to the big leagues. This draft also has some of the best QBs coming out of college, which is a green light for teams desperate for a QB. There’s a lot of promising talent going into the draft but one player in particular stands out is Kenny Pickett from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kevin Hanson from Sports Illustrated said “Among the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class, none may be more ready to start early in their careers than Pickett”. In mock drafts, it was predicted that the Pittsburgh Steelers would draft Pickett. This could be their chance to mold him into their scheme and make him a top competing QB.

The four other top QB draft picks are Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Sam Howell, and Desmond Ridder. Only time will tell where these young stars will end up, but all we know is that no team will be disappointed in their choice of QB.