Tensions high in Seattle, Watt joins Arizona and Breer takes your questions.
Albert Breer breaks down the situation between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks and why the team has continued to struggle with having a clean offseason. We also break down J.J. Watt's signing with the Cardinals and why the team may be closer to be a serious contender than many think, why Trevor Lawrence is way more of a sure thing at quarterback than Zach Wilson in this year's draft, and the players than would have stood out at this year's combine had it not been canceled. We also talk to former Jets and Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum on his history of drafting players and whether quarterbacks need to be evaluated differently than they have been in the past. And of course, we wrap things up with the mailbag.
The following transcript is an excerpt from The Albert Breer Show. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere or on SI.com.
Albert Breer: My first takeaway from this week, it is time for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks to figure out where they are from a relationship standpoint and try and get this thing nipped in the bud once and for all.
And I think what's frustrating for the Seahawks here isn't that they're dealing with this now, it's that they've dealt with this on an annual basis. Whether it's the contracts, whether it's been the friction between Russell and some of the older defensive players—those Legion of Boom guys—whether it's the grumbling from Russell's camp over what's around him, it just never seems like there's a total clean offseason where there isn't something going on with Russell Wilson at some level. And I can see why the Seahawks might be getting to the point where they might be a little fed up with it, and why they would at this point want to once and for all figure out a way to solve this. So to me that's what this is about, especially because of all the quarterback movement we're going to see this offseason that we all have looked at this and are saying, there could be four, maybe even five quarterbacks that go in the top 10. I don't think it'll be five. But at least four quarterbacks are very much in the running to go in the top 10. You could see a lot of veteran quarterback movement at a very high level with guys like Russ and Deshaun Watson and kind of like a reclamation project level, too, with guys like Sam Darnold and Marcus Mariota. And so if there ever was an offseason to try and figure out where you're at, this would seem to be the one.
And I don't think you want to wait a year too long on this, either. I think you want to be in a position where you're saying to yourself, O.K., this is where we are going forward, and either it's fixed or we're moving on. And so I think that Russell and the Seahawks need to figure out, can we make it through the duration of this contract, at the very least? There are three years left on his deal. And I think it's hard to project seven or eight years out. Who knows where Russell is? Who knows where the Seahawks are? Who knows who is the coach at that point? It's too hard to project that far out. But can you get through the next few years without incident? Can you get through the next few years where there's not going to be a problem on a year-to-year basis? That's where I think the key is here. And so if I'm the Seahawks, that's the answer I'm seeking. If I can, great, we'll figure out where we're at, we'll adjust some things that we need to adjust and we'll go forward. If we aren't, this may be the offseason where you do look at potentially separating. And I know that sounds crazy because he was an MVP candidate halfway through last year, but I think it's important to assess where you are from a global standpoint as a franchise. And I think the Seahawks are at that point with their quarterback where they got to figure out where his head's at and whether or not they can get to a place where everybody is operating in lockstep going forward. And he put them in a really tough position, too, with the teams that he picked. I mean, if you look at them, I think if you're trading Russell Wilson, you want to have some sort of clear path to finding your next quarterback. And you look at the teams that were on that list, the Bears pick 20th; the best quarterback they'd have to deal is Nick Foles. But that's not a clear path to finding your next quarterback. The Raiders have the 17th pick, they've got Derek Carr as their quarterback. Maybe you really like Derek Carr. I don't know if he'd be your long-term answer. The Cowboys have the 10th pick and Dak Prescott, but Dak Prescott isn’t under contract. So if you were to trade for him, you'd want to get him, of course, signed to a long-term deal. And if his being part of the trade is contingent on him either signing the tag or a long-term deal, man, would he have a world of leverage over you. So you'd probably be talking about signing him, it's not just liking him, it's liking him at like $40 to $45 million a year. And then if you look at the Saints, they have the 28th pick. I don't think you want to be trading for Taysom Hill. So you look at those four teams, and there really isn't a clear path to finding your next quarterback.
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