49ers Christmas wish: Seahawks trade Russell Wilson in 2022

The 49ers would love nothing more than to have Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson traded out of the NFC West, and it looks like it might happen.

For the first time since taking over the Seattle Seahawks‘ quarterbacking job back in 2012, Russell Wilson is going to be at the helm of a team that’ll finish with a losing record.

It’s not all on him. The Seahawks, who have seemingly prolonged the inevitable fall from grace ever since Wilson was accompanied by the once-vaunted “Legion of Boom” in the middle of the previous decade, have shown cracks for some time now.

In 2021, it’s all fallen apart, highlighted by a Week 16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that ensured the Hawks will be below .500 this season.

The San Francisco 49ers and their fanbase won’t shed a single tear over this. Not after Seattle embarrassingly swept its NFC West rivals again this season despite the Niners mathematically being able to finish with no worse than an identical record as the Seahawks this year.

And after so many years of being dominated by Wilson and the Hawks, San Francisco has but one remaining wish.

Wilson to be dealt somewhere else. Anywhere else.

49ers final Christmas wish is to see Seahawks trade Russell Wilson

There’s no shortage of nationwide speculation Seattle will trade Wilson this offseason. Perhaps it’ll part ways with longtime head coach Pete Carroll, too. Maybe even general manager John Schneider. Who knows?

And while there’s no questioning a would-be Wilson trade nets the Seahawks a lucrative package of NFL Draft picks and potentially a blue-chip player or two to help spark a roster overhaul, the 49ers couldn’t care less.

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Over his career, Wilson owns a 16-4 regular-season record over the Niners, in addition to that one 2014 NFC Championship win we won’t talk about. His 36 touchdowns thrown against San Francisco are the most against any opponent, too.

Wilson already created a list of teams he’d prefer to be traded to, and the folks over at Pro Football Focus listed the New Orleans Saints as a potential hot-spot destination, justifying it by saying:

"Bringing Wilson into the fold would completely open up the offense and give defenses fits as they try to stop both the downfield aerial attack and a dynamic ground game led by Alvin Kamara. Opposing defenses have lined up with seven or more defenders in the box on 59.4% of Saints plays in 2021, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. Wilson has faced seven or more box defenders on just 44% of his snaps this season.If Wilson lands in the Crescent City and wide receiver Michael Thomas can finally get back healthy, the Saints immediately become contenders in the NFC."

Ideally, the 49ers would prefer an AFC destination, and the sheer number of times the Niners have been tasked with playing New Orleans in recent years would still mean Wilson would remain a regular foe if traded there.

At least not twice a year, though. And that would be fine enough for San Francisco fans.