March 8, 2022 will go down as an important date in 49ers history, and they didn’t even do anything that day.
They simply watched as the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, Drew Lock, Noah Fant and Shelby Harris.
Suddenly, another future Hall of Fame quarterback has left the NFC for the AFC and made the 49ers’ path to the Super Bowl easier, all because the Broncos decided to give up more than the Rams gave up for Matthew Stafford just to get 33-year-old Russell Wilson, who’s now the third-best quarterback in the AFC West behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Which means the Broncos probably won’t win a Super Bowl with Wilson. Which means they probably lost this trade.
And then there’s the Seahawks, who just entered rebuilding mode, and handed the 49ers two free wins next season. Remember, Russell Wilson’s career record against the 49ers was 16-4. Even when the Seahawks were bad, Wilson still found ways to beat the 49ers (see last season).
Now the Seahawks probably will have a rookie starting quarterback — whoever they draft with the first-round pick they acquired from Denver, maybe Malik Willis — while the 49ers have Trey Lance, who has been with the 49ers for a year and almost certainly would be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft had he stayed in school.
All in all, I’d have to say it was a good day for the 49ers.
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