SEATTLE — After signing an extension earlier this week, Seahawks general manager John Schneider is under contract through 2031, giving him a chance to oversee the team for two full decades.

But no matter how much longer he runs the football side of the Seahawks, he is unlikely to make a bigger move than he did on March 8, 2022.

That’s the day Schneider, with Pete Carroll’s blessing, dealt quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver for a package of three players and five draft picks.

While Wilson’s relationship with the organization had been fraying the previous few years, his status as one of the most popular players in team history hadn’t seemed to dim. Any reasonable argument of the most important players in team history begins with him.

While trade rumors had circulated for more than a year, there was still a sense of shock when the deal was made, rivaling that of the Mariners’ move of Ken Griffey Jr. in 1999 as the most momentous in the city’s pro sports history.

The general perception more than three years later is that the Seahawks won the trade, thanks in large part to a surprising decline in Wilson’s production.

He was run out of Denver after going 11-19 in 30 starts and completing two seasons of a new contract that was supposed to keep him with the Broncos through 2028.

Wilson spent the 2024 season in Pittsburgh, showing some brief flashes of his old self in getting the Steelers into the playoffs before appearing to be exposed as a 36-year-old QB on the downside in a blowout wild-card loss to Baltimore, finishing 6-5 in 11 starts.

Again a free agent this spring, Wilson appeared to have only a couple of serious suitors before signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the woebegone New York Giants.

Wilson has already been declared the team’s opening day starter by coach Brian Daboll.

With Daboll on a short leash as coach — he is 18-32-1 in three years, going from nine wins his first season to six and then three — Wilson may be on an even shorter one as QB.

The Giants signed veteran free agent Jameis Winston to a two-year, $8 million deal and selected Jaxson Dart in the first round and if Wilson struggles, Daboll seems sure to turn the page quickly.

With Wilson turning 37 in November, this may also be his last shot to prove he can still be a viable starting quarterback in the NFL.

The Seahawks will reap the benefits of that deal for years to come, with seven players who were directly or indirectly acquired from the Wilson trade remaining on the roster.

Here’s a look at the players the Seahawks got in the trade and their current NFL status:

Veteran players

— Defensive lineman Shelby Harris: Harris started 15 games for the Seahawks in 2022 before being released the following March in a cost-cutting move. He has been a starter the last two seasons for the Cleveland Browns.

— Quarterback Drew Lock: After backing up Geno Smith in 2022 and 2023, Lock spent last season with the New York Giants on a one-year contract. He re-signed with the Seahawks in April and is slated to be the backup for Sam Darnold this season.

— Tight end Noah Fant: Fant was the Seahawks' primary tight end the last three seasons before being released before the start of training camp in a move that saved roughly $8.5 million in salary for the 2025 season. It was reported Thursday he has signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Draft picks

— Left tackle Charles Cross: He was taken ninth overall in 2022 as one of two first-round picks the Seahawks got back from Denver. Cross, still just 24 years old, has started all but three games the past three seasons and enters the 2025 season considered a long-term fixture at the most important offensive line position. The Seahawks have already picked up an option on his contract for the 2026 season for $17.56 million.

— Rush end Boye Mafe: He was taken 40th overall in 2022 with one of two second-round picks they got for Wilson. Mafe has 18 sacks and 30 starts in three seasons and projects to be a key part of the pass rush again this season as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.

— Cornerback Devon Witherspoon: Witherspoon was drafted fifth overall in 2023 as the second of two first-round picks they got in the deal. Witherspoon has been a starter from day one and was named as one of the Top 50 players in franchise history by the team earlier this year.

— Rush end Derick Hall: He was taken 37th overall in 2023 as the second of two second-round picks they got in the deal. Hall had a breakout season in his second year in 2024 with eight sacks, and like Mafe, again projects to be a key part of the pass-rush rotation.

— Linebacker Tyreke Smith: The Seahawks traded a 2022 fifth-round choice they received in the deal to Kansas City for two other picks. They used the first of those — 158 — on Smith. Smith was released by the Seahawks in 2023 and briefly spent time with Arizona before returning to the Seahawks. He has played in just three games with just one tackle but remains with the team and is competing for a roster spot again this year in training camp.

— Receiver Dareke Young: The Seahawks selected Young at 223rd overall in 2022 as the second of the two picks it received from KC. Young has played in 33 games the last three seasons, seeing most of his action on special teams. He made two catches for 24 yards in 2022. He is again competing for a roster spot in camp this year.

Denver also received a fourth-round pick in 2022 which it used on defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike, who has played in 12 games with 28 tackles and remains on Denver’s roster.

The upshot is the Seahawks have four players left from the deal who project as starters or key contributors for this season and three others who could play backup roles. At most, Denver will have just Uwazurike remaining as well as paying Wilson $122.790 million.

Some have rightly countered that maybe the Seahawks should have more to show for the haul than just one postseason appearance the last three years, a loss in the wild-card round. It's the same as Denver in the same time period, with each going 10-7 last season under new coaches (Mike Macdonald for Seattle, Sean Payton for Denver).

Schneider hopes the Wilson haul helps end the Seahawks' postseason drought this year and a trade that will always be considered a good one looks that much better.

The legacy of the rest of his Seahawks tenure — even with at least six more years to go — may depend greatly on it.

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