Why didn't Russell Wilson want to come to Philly?

It is a tale as old as time. Philadelphia sports team pursues giant superstar; giant superstar refuses to come to city.

Aside from a few exceptions — like Bryce Harper and more recently James Harden — Philadelphia just has a bad wrap when it comes to bringing in mercenary giants of sporting prowess. But why?

Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos for a very large but relatively reasonable sum Tuesday, an exchange that saw the Seahawks receive two first round picks, two second round picks, a backup-caliber quarterback and a starting caliber tight end and defensive end. 

With three first round picks in the upcoming draft and a bunch of younger tradable assets, the Eagles had the ammo, the need and the desire to bring in Wilson. But according to reports, the Super Bowl-winning signal caller was not willing to waive his no-trade clause to head to the Eagles.

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The last part of that tweet is... weird. But it seems the information at the beginning of it is true. Here's an excerpt from Jake Heaps who appeared on KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” Tuesday evening (h/t BGN for the transcription):

“The reason why this [deal] happened so quickly and progressed quickly is because, one, Denver was working on this behind the scenes for a while now.

The other reason is because the Seahawks were limited, guys. There’s not real leverage if there’s only a certain amount of teams that Russell Wilson’s actually interested in or be willing to waive his no-trade clause for.

He turned down the Washington [Commanders] offer. He turned down an offer from Philly during the Combine.

And the Denver situation was the clear-cut, number one choice for him going into all these other teams.”

So he rejected opportunities to go to Washington and Philly. And according to the above report it was because of the "situation."

Let's just take the high road here and assume that non-football factors were not in his reasoning here. How much better of a situation are the Broncos in than the Eagles? Was it really a clear cut decision for football reasons?

Last year

Last year, the Eagles made the playoffs at 9-8 and the Broncos went 7-10. Philly beat Denver in Denver, if you recall. The Eagles strength of schedule was 30th while the Broncos were 15th. That's a solid argument that the Birds were probably better. Here's a look at some DVOA stats from the two clubs:

The above stats (via FootballOutsiders.com) are pretty darn equal, aside from the Eagles' dominance running the ball. Which leads us to the second football reason Russell may have spurned Philadelphia...

Playing style

It's no secret that the Eagles didn't throw the ball much last year — their 28.9 throws per game were 29th in the NFL last season. But Jalen Hurts was a run-first quarterback. Certainly, if Wilson was in the fold, the offense would adjust. 

Wilson's weapons

However, Hurts isn't the only reason the Eagles offense leaned so heavily into running the ball. The Birds are lacking in reliable pass catchers. Here's how the two teams' offenses measure up, before free agency and the draft. It's worth noting that a Wilson trade would have likely created some issues for the Eagles in finding cash to spend in free agency, so this depth chart would likely only have been improved by a rookie acquisition.

We would be remiss if we didn't mention the Eagles elite offensive line, which Wilson would have gotten protection from. The Broncos line is certainly a step up from Seattle's awful situation in 2021, but it's not as good as Philly's.

However, the Broncos wideouts are, as of now, superior.

The division

The Eagles have a clear edge with their level of competition being easier. Wilson will have to face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Justin Herbert and the Chargers and Derek Carr and the Raiders twice a year. This in contrast to the dumpster fire Giants, the quarterback-less Commanders and the Cowboys, who are okay.

The coaching staff

Philly boasts second-year head coach Nick Sirianni, who had a very good rookie season. The Broncos have first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was Aaron Rodgers' offensive coordinator in Green Bay. It's probably a toss up.

If you compare the football-related factors for both teams, there really isn't a whole lot of difference. The Broncos are better on defense and have better weapons. The Eagles have an easier division and a better offensive line. But Wilson was feeling Denver and not Philly.

It doesn't seem clear cut to me. So maybe it wasn't just the football "situation" that led to Wilson's strong preference. 

There's only one more cog left — Deshaun Watson — who, if cleared to play after his off field issues, will surely be on Howie Roseman's radar. We'll see what happens if and when his market develops.

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