Often times in the sports world, insiders are constantly hearing rumblings and rumors from their network of sources and they’re tasked with vetting out what is legit and what’s not. With there being so many whispers while reporting, journalists will usually never make all the rumors they hear public.
During an interview with The 33rd Team’s Joey Mulinaro, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was asked what the “juiciest rumor you’ve heard at the combine” was. Rapoport proceeded to tell a story about what he was hearing when Russell Wilson’s future was up in the air back in 2022.
“I’ll give you one from last year just so I don’t ruin anything from this year,” he said. “There were times last year when I was pretty convinced, at the combine, that the Eagles or the Commanders were gonna trade for Russell Wilson.”
Juiciest rumor @RapSheet has heard at the combine the last few years?
— Joey (@JoeyMulinaro) April 7, 2023
How about an NFL world where Mr. Unlimited was….an Eagle 👀
Full ep 🫡: https://t.co/ygp7cmg5EP pic.twitter.com/J41h50wtDX
“That was one where you, like, kind of stop everything,” he continued. “Now, turned out that was not something he was into. He was only into going to the Broncos.”
The Seahawks eventually dealt Wilson to the Broncos in a blockbuster trade but things didn’t go great for Denver in 2022. The team fired rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett after the team went 5–12 and Wilson struggled in his first NFL season away from Seattle, throwing just 16 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions.
The Eagles went on to appear in the Super Bowl and Jalen Hurts was runner-up for the league MVP, so things turned out well for them. The Commanders, on the other hand, finished at the bottom of the potent NFC East and missed the postseason.
