\u201cIt just goes back to, everything happens for a reason \u2026 I\u2019ll let life happen, let God lead me in the right direction,\u201d Lock said when asked about the Wilson deal Sunday. \u201cTrust what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s already been written. And it\u2019s just my job to go live it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26040001153279.jpg\")
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo\/Morry Gash)
\nA king\u2019s ransom for Russ<\/p>\n
Seattle\u2019s only losing season in the last 14 years came in 2021, when a 33-year-old Wilson was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. Schneider and Seattle decided it was time to shop Wilson, after his 10th year with the franchise.<\/p>\n
Wilson, though, had a no-trade clause baked into a four-year, $140 million extension he\u2019d signed in 2019, necessitating that he and agent Mark Rodgers needed to sign off on however Seattle tested the market. And Wilson, as Rodgers recalled this past week to The Post, wanted to go to Denver \u2014 a historic franchise that was temporarily operating with no head coach (the team fired Vic Fangio in January 2022) and no owner (the team was put up for sale in February 2022).<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstand \u2014 we were talking, and negotiating, in what I would call a vacuum,\u201d Rodgers said.<\/p>\n
Broncos general manager George Paton, entering his second year in Denver, was maneuvering to get a quarterback. The Broncos wanted Wilson enough for Paton to promise Rodgers \u2014 before he was traded \u2014 that Denver would sign him to a long-term extension once he arrived. And Schneider, who\u2019d already won a Super Bowl with Seattle in 2013, wrestled away a treasure trove of assets from Denver: former first-round pick Noah Fant, former second-round pick Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and five future draft choices.<\/p>\n
On March 16, 2022, then-Broncos tight end Eric Saubert was working out with Fant at a gym in Orange County when a television above them flashed. The news of the Wilson deal broke to their complete shock. The two enjoyed one brief, fleeting second of shared euphoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh! We got Russ!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Fant\u2019s agent called with the news.<\/p>\n
In the years since, the move has set Denver and Seattle on two diverging trajectories that nearly looped them back to a meeting in Super Bowl LX after the Broncos came four points away from beating New England in 2025\u2019s AFC title game. Paton, of course, swung and missed on Wilson and on hiring Nathaniel Hackett in 2022, then swung a course-correcting trade for Sean Payton as head coach, and since has delivered nothing but hits. Schneider, meanwhile, added three key contributors with those Denver picks: Cross was drafted at No. 9 in 2022, and Witherspoon at No. 5 and Hall at No. 38 in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beginning of all of this was his understanding Wilson, the trade market, and getting that value from the Denver Broncos,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cInterestingly \u2013 so, that\u2019s the beginning of that rebuild \u2026 and John\u2019s done a phenomenal job. I mean, John\u2019s as good a personnel guy as there is in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Seahawks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26039861031697.jpg\")
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) drops back to pass as offensive tackle Charles Cross (67) defends against a rush by New England Patriots defensive end Milton Williams (97) during the first half of the Super Bowl on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)
\n\u2018We just really hunted\u2019<\/p>\n
For four quarters in Santa Clara on Sunday, the Seahawks\u2019 defense put on a masterclass in football torment. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye played like he heard footsteps awaiting at every corner of the pocket, getting sacked six times with four turnovers. After blitzing Witherspoon just 21 times in 2025, according to Next Gen Stats, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald sent him repeatedly on timely defensive-back pressures, and the 25-year-old recorded three quarterback hits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just really hunted,\u201d Hall said. \u201cI feel like we showed we\u2019re the number-one defense in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patriots were fully prepared for this. They were simply helpless to stop it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know that he blitzed that fewest amount of times,\u201d Patriots receiver Trent Sherfield said. \u201cBecause we were so \u2014 just so ingrained in our minds that like, \u2018Hey, we need to be prepared for the DB blitz.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In many ways, Seattle\u2019s formula was exactly akin to Denver\u2019s throughout 2025. A quarterback who avoided mistakes, turned a few negative plays into positive ones and delivered a few shots. A running game that buoyed the offense for long stretches. A defense that combined exotic pressure with sticky coverage.<\/p>\n
The Seahawks simply had a cleaner run and were buoyed by branches from a trade that has reshaped the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back at it, it was kinda like the hamster wheel started turning,\u201d said Scott, who was originally hired in 2022, a week before the Wilson deal. \u201cAnd you have a vision for what it can be. But no one truly knows what it\u2019s going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to see it come to the light, it\u2019s kinda cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n