As NFL fans, we love hypotheticals. It's a natural part of being a fan. There are the "what ifs" and the "should haves" that haunt every franchise's fanbase. When it comes to Chicago Bears fans, there is one what if they should be glad never happened: trading for quarterback Russell Wilson.
It seems insane to bring up now. But when the Seattle Seahawks were actively looking to trade away Wilson, the Bears were on a short list of potential trade destinations that also included the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and New Orleans Saints, per ESPN.
Bears almost traded for Russell Wilson
At the time, the quarterback-needy Bears and Wilson made sense. The Bears were a storied franchise in one of the largest media markets in the entire league, and Wilson was going to be the quarterback to bring them back to prominence. He'd right the wrong of drafting Mitchell Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and potentially save head coach Matt Nagy's job.
As trade speculation grew, rumors swirled that the Bears went all in on a Wilson trade, offering the Seahawks three first-round picks, one third-round pick, and two starters, per CBS Sports. This trade package is similar to what the Denver Broncos ultimately paid for.
In the end, the Seahawks hung up the phone, and the deal folded. The Bears rebounded by signing Andy Dalton and drafting Justin Fields out of Ohio State.
We know how this story ends. The Seahawks traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a king's ransom of picks and players. Eventually, he burned out in Denver after two below-average seasons, and the trade is widely regarded as one of the worst in NFL history. Meanwhile, the Bears started a three-year rebuild that ended with Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson, and a 2025 NFC North championship.
It makes us beg the question, what if the Bears ended up trading for Wilson?
In this hypothetical, Wilson is traded a year early in 2021 instead of 2022. Wilson arrives at training camp in August as arguably the best quarterback in Bears history without even throwing a single pass. After an 8-8 finish and a Wild Card exit in 2020, Wilson is seen as the missing chess piece the Bears need to win a Super Bowl. The Bears are in win-now mode, especially with defensive end Khalil Mack leading the defense. This doesn't last long.
The hype surrounding the Bears ends quickly as Wilson is exposed from Day 1 in Nagy's offense. Instead of winning games, Bears fans are booing Wilson off the field, and there are talks of selling the team as Green Bay Packers fans post memes saying "Let Russ Cook." The Bears end the season by cleaning house and bringing in head coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.
Make no mistake, this trade would have been a disaster for the Bears and would have set the franchise back a decade.
Considering Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million contract with the Broncos, it's fair to assume he'd have a similar contract with the Bears in this hypothetical trade. They'd have to keep Wilson around in order to avoid taking a dead cap casualty, which is what the Broncos ended up doing before releasing him after the 2023 season.
This would leave the Bears with a salary cap in complete disarray, thanks to Wilson, and no draft picks to build a young team around him since they all went to Seattle. The Bears end up stuck in NFC purgatory as they manage an impossible salary cap situation.
Seattle still builds a Super Bowl winning team around a young defense.
So, the Bears don't end up with Fields, the Panthers' first overall pick, which led to Williams, Ben Johnson, and a young core on offense that features Kyle Monangai, Luther Burden, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland. It's highly likely Poles is gone after just two seasons as well.
Read more: Ryan Poles has good reason to be tempted to sign five-time Pro Bowler to Bears
As Bears fans consider this nightmare scenario, they should be thankful they have Williams and Johnson leading the team for the foreseeable future.