Colts: Latest Russell Wilson rumors suggest not trading for him was probably a good idea

At the start of the offseason, Indianapolis Colts fans set an extremely high bar for the front office to clear with regard to addressing the quarterback position.

Once the search got underway, it was pretty much proven superstar or bust.

In fact, as soon as it was revealed that Deshaun Watson wanted out of Houston, the fan base  began recruiting him on social media…despite the fact that the Texans were never going to trade him within the division, let alone to a rival he would make an instant championship contender.

Not long after that became clear, however, news broke indicating that Russell Wilson has become increasingly troubled by the direction of the Seahawks’ organization as far as their failure to equip him with a stable offensive line and his lack of influence in personnel decisions.

In the subsequent weeks, buzz about Wilson potentially demanding a trade has grown louder, and we (before the Carson Wentz trade) were advocating for the Colts to make a run at him if he became available, because why the heck not?

However, the latest rumors suggest Indianapolis was smart to steer clear of Wilson, as he apparently believes he’s a top five quarterback of all time and isn’t being treated as such.

Russell Wilson allegedly believing he’s a top five QB of all time proves the Colts were smart not to pursue him via trade.

It’s worth noting that this could all just be a negotiation tactic instilled by Wilson’s camp in an effort to light a fire under the Seahawks to get their act together — or to further incentivize them to trade him — but the details of “top five QB” clearly weren’t thrown in there by accident.

Either Wilson actually thinks that highly of himself or he’s simply more desperate to leave Seattle than he initially led on at the start of this now-prolonged saga. Whatever the case, neither is a great look and proves the Colts bypassing trading for him, even if they never made an official offer, was a blessing in disguise

Not in a million years would we have guessed that Wilson is this high-maintenance, but nothing comes as a surprise anymore in today’s NFL, when players possess more power than ever before and are able to singlehandedly force their way out of their current organization by something as simple as leaking a few stories and ignoring calls from ownership.

As far as Wilson reportedly viewing himself as one of the five best quarterbacks in league history, we’re not even going to dignify that with a response. Any non-brainwashed football fan knows that isn’t close to being the case, and it really makes general manager Chris Ballard look like a genius for seemingly declining to get Seattle on the phone.

Again, we’ll likely never know the full extent (or lack thereof) of Indianapolis’ interest in Wilson now that the Wentz trade has come to fruition. However, it should bring a big smile to fans’ faces knowing that the 32-year-old star is willing to burn as many bridges as possible on his way out.

The Colts are as functional of a franchise as there is in the NFL, and having to move heaven and earth in order to satisfy Wilson really would’ve overshadowed their quest to win a championship.

That, as we’ve seen with the Seahawks, is a recipe for disaster.

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