In order to help convince Seattle to give up franchise quarterback Russell Wilson via trade, the Chicago Bears made the Seahawks an offer they couldn’t refuse. Or so they thought.
The Seahawks reportedly turned down a blockbuster offer before the Bears went on to sign Andy Dalton to a one-year deal worth $10 million. According to Dan Patrick, it was a package comprised of three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two unnamed Chicago starters.
If that seems like an extreme amount of compensation to give up for Wilson, it is. But when you consider who the Bears have trotted out at quarterback over the past few decades, it actually doesn’t seem like all that much.
Per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Seahawks GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll discussed accepting Chicago GM Ryan Pace’s offer, but ultimately decided against it.
“The Bears certainly made a big offer — multiple first-round picks,” Rapoport said Wednesday. “The Seahawks slept on it. They discussed it. Yesterday, they decided, specifically coach Pete Carroll, 70 years old, does not want to rebuild, decided we are not trading Russell Wilson to the Bears.”
One reason the Bears were probably willing to give up so many assets for Wilson was seeing the immediate positive impact stud linebacker Khalil Mack had on their defense after they traded a pair of first-round picks along with a third and a sixth to the Raiders for him just before the start of the 2018 season.
Wilson, 32, would likely have had a similar impact on Chicago had the Bears been able to get a deal with the ‘Hawks done. Which isn’t to say adding Dalton didn’t have an immediate effect on Chicago. On the contrary, bringing in the Red Rifle certainly did. As ESPN reports, the reported signing of the veteran quarterback changed the Bears’ odds of winning the Super Bowl at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill … dropping them from 40-1 back to 50-1.
As it stands now, the Kansas City Chiefs remain the consensus Super Bowl favorite with +525 odds at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +900. After spending more than $200 million in free agency like drunken sailors on shore leave, the New England Patriots improved their Super Bowl odds marginally from 40-1 to 35-1. Should the Pats land an alternative quarterback to Cam Newton — perhaps Deshaun Watson — those odds will improve by quite a bit.
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