The 49ers will never fully rid themselves of Russell Wilson.
Next season, they'll visit the talismanic quarterback who has been a thorn in their backside over the last decade.
Only this time they'll be doing it in Denver.
The song that you think you hear coming from the 49ers facility in Santa Clara is "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead". Russell Wilson is no longer a member of the Seahawks. He's a Denver Bronco now, which means, that the Niners' long, twice-, sometimes thrice-annual nightmare is over.
Wilson was a worthy adversary and a brilliant nemesis. His ability to seemingly always find a way to beat the 49ers — no matter the circumstances and certainly no matter the venue — bordered on magic. He was the kind of player that broke Niners' fans' hearts so many times that you couldn't help but respect him. (It was silent respect and one that was never acknowledged until this moment, but respect nevertheless.)
But now he's in the AFC and the Seahawks have become markedly — no, comically — worse in the process.
Less than two years after Seattle traded two first-round picks for a box safety, the Seahawks only received two first-round picks in return for the greatest player in the history of the franchise. Wilson is 33 years old, still one of the best players in the league, and that's all Seattle could muster?
Now, there are a couple of second-round picks going from Denver to Seattle, too. This is the equivalent of gifting a couple of lottery tickets at Christmas while someone else buys you a brand-new iPhone.
Oh, and Seattle also acquired quarterback Drew Lock, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant.
But mark my words: Only Fant will still be with the Seahawks this time next season.
So, to recap, the Seahawks traded a player with magical powers and received two first-round picks, some chips to play craps with, a young but failed starting quarterback, and two good but not spectacular players at two non-impact positions.
This is a fleecing of the highest order. A trade so bad you're wondering if Seattle has a system of checks and balances in the front office.
The only way this trade can look anything but embarrassing in a few years is if the Seahawks are able to find a franchise quarterback with this year's first-round pick from the Broncos. Yes, they'll need to find a replacement for Wilson in the worst quarterback draft class since 2013.
The Seahawks are cooked.
Just as drafting Wilson brought about a decade of prosperity and a Super Bowl to Seattle (last season was the first in Wilson's career where the Seahawks finished below .500), trading him will likely be a decade-long mistake.
Some teams never seem to find the quarterback. The Bears, the Jets, the Dolphins. They exist in a class on their own.
But there's another class of teams that only stave off irrelevance because of their quarterback.
How are the New York Giants doing since Eli Manning retired?
What about the Panthers post-Cam Newton?
The Saints without Drew Brees?
The Seahawks without Russell Wilson will soon join this camp.
And that's a huge win for the 49ers, who were already having a pretty good offseason.
The Rams are the Super Bowl champions, yes, but they'll lose a bunch of key players this upcoming offseason — titles bring raises and the Rams are out of money.
The Cardinals are a cesspool right now. Kyler Murray isn't durable physically or mentally and he wants to be paid early because of it. The first truly Generation Z star quarterback is pressuring the Cardinals with a series of passive-aggressive moves on social media and his agent is sending out edicts on social media that might as well be compromised of cut-out letters from magazines. They have a top-notch operation over there.
The Niners still need to move Jimmy Garoppolo. Washington seems like a nice option for them after the newly-named Commanders' significantly better offer for Wilson was rebuffed by Seattle (who wanted Wilson to leave the NFC). The 49ers have no such hang-ups. They'll gladly take just one of those three first-round picks Washington offered the team from Washington.
I'm joking — Garoppolo isn't worth a first-round pick — but I'm also dead serious.
Worst-case scenario, the 49ers cut Jimmy G and go spend some money in free agency. The salary cap increased more than early projections, meaning the Niners can likely afford to keep their players and add a few into the fold — especially if they can trade Garoppolo.
Maybe Tom Brady shows up in Santa Clara. Probably not, but whether it's the greatest quarterback to play the game or Trey Lance, the Niners are in good hands next year, and their path in the NFC West — while still anything but easy — doesn't look nearly as challenging as it did in years past.
Wilson leaving the Seahawks is the biggest win of the 49ers' offseason to date.
Now let's see if they can create some competition for the top prize in the days to come.
