Mike Florio Says Russell Wilson Demanding Trade 'Seems Inevitable'

Russell Wilson's relationship with the Seahawks has deteriorated in front of the ravenous eyes of the public, with Wilson's camp recently confirming a report that he would accept a trade to four teams, while also saying he hoped to remain with the Seahawks. That comes less than a month after Wilson aired his issues with the organization publicly on the Dan Patrick show and on the heels of several other reports about Wilson's discontentment with decisions made by Seahawks czar Pete Carroll.

This all makes for great reality TV, which sports have essentially become, but leaves a major question hanging in the air: what will happen with Wilson? According to NFL insider Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the answer is Wilson will inevitably demand a trade and Carroll will ultimately decide whether or not to grant him one.

In the lede of an article focused mostly on dissecting Carroll's supreme and unquestioned authority in Seattle as both head coach and GM, AKA a de facto CEO, Florio wrote: "Whether it happens this year or next year, it seems inevitable that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson officially will ask the Seahawks to trade him."

While the recent story of Wilson, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, approaching the Seahawks with a list of teams he would accept a trade to made waves, he hasn't demanded a trade and, to my knowledge, no NFL insider before Florio suggested this was an unfixable situation that will eventually result in a formal trade request. As someone who has followed and furthered this conversation personally, Florio holds weight in this situation. For him to suggest a trade request seems inevitable is telling and suggest Wilson will only play for the Seahawks one more season, at the most.

The timing of this makes sense. The Seahawks would have to eat $39 million in dead cap space in 2021 if they traded Wilson now. If they wait until after the 2021 season, the hit would be a more-palatable $26 million.

Beyond numbers, the Seahawks aren't built to win-now without Wilson. With limited cap space and no first-round pick this year or next, trading Wilson would leave Carroll in an impossible spot of trying to field a winning team without a star quarterback built to survive in front of the subpar offensive line the Seahawks have.

Seeing this relationship splinter has been appealing fodder for the masses yearning for conversation topics in an NFL offseason rife with them. Yet it always felt inevitable that Wilson and the Seahawks would mend fences because it made sense financially and tactically for both sides. Then Florio drops this report and makes a divorce appear equally inevitable. You never would have guessed that after the season, but that's where things stand. The only question now is will this prognostication become reality or not.