If you hit the rewind button to two years ago, the Chicago Bears quarterback situation was on the mind of every diehard Bears fan. Looking back, we should be happy they didn't make a trade for Russell Wilson.
Had the Bears pulled off a deal for Wilson, we'd be in terrible shape in terms of draft capital and cap space.
After a 2021 season that saw longtime head coach Matt Nagy fired, the Bears had a quarterback carousel featuring starts from Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, and Nick Foles, per Pro Football Reference. None of them are on the Bears anymore. Foles wasn't even on a team last season.
The following offseason was full of many questions. Many thought the answer to the Bears quarterback woes was to trade for Russell Wilson and let Fields be a backup until Wilson was ready to give up the starting gig.
We should all be thankful this trade didn't work out. A Russel Wilson trade would've set the franchise back years.
Wilson would end up becoming the Denver Broncos' problem. And a very, very expensive one. The Broncos gave up an embarrassment of riches for Wilson, giving up two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-rounder & players Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, and Noah Fant. They also signed Russ to a five-year, $245 million contract.
This blockbuster trade seemed like the right move at the time, especially when you factor in the Broncos were a quarterback carousel for seven years after Peyton Manning retired. The Bears, a franchise notorious for below-average quarterbacks, felt like they missed out on the guy who could get them another Super Bowl ring.
Knowing what we know now, the Bears dodged a bullet. Wilson proved he was washed up was ran out of Denver within two years. Meanwhile, the Seahawks capitalized on all the picks they received and rebuilt their team, turning those picks into mainstays like Charles Cross and Devon Witherspoon.
The Russell Wilson trade is often compared to the Herschel Walker trade, which allowed the Dallas Cowboys to win three Super Bowls in four years in the 1990s.
The Chicago Bears avoided a massive mistake in failing to finalize a trade for Russell Wilson.
Instead of trading for Russ and letting him cook, the Bears elected to stick with Fields, trade away the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, and are now in a position to draft the quarterback of the future: USC's Caleb Williams. The Bears are expected to draft him first overall, per CBS Sports.
If the Bears actually traded for Wilson, the Bears would not be in the position that they currently are in.
The Bears would've given up all the high draft picks we earned. The Bears wouldn't have D.J. Moore and Darnell Wright because they would've never had the first overall pick to begin with. The Bears would be in cap space hell after paying Wilson. None of the splash free-agent signings over the past two offseasons would've happened. No T.J. Edwards, Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, Montez Sweat or Nate Davis.
Ironically, Wilson and Fields are on the same team now. Both ended up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers' season plays out, especially from the perspective of a Bears fan.
As the Bears prepare for the Caleb Williams era, we should be thankful we played our cards right.