Russell Wilson's Contract Projection Should Terrify Raiders

That includes potentially signing an old, declining signal-caller in free agency as a potential bridge to the future.

One name that has naturally surfaced is Russell Wilson, who spent 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers but has obvious ties to new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.

Carroll coached Wilson for a decade with the Seattle Seahawks, so it would only make sense that Las Vegas has been routinely connected to the 10-time Pro Bowler since Carroll took the job.

However, Wilson's most recent contract projection by Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network should absolutely terrify the Raiders and prevent them from even going near the veteran quarterback.

Rolfe is predicting that Wilson will land a multi-year deal worth $30-35 million annually, which would be an absolutely ridiculous price to pay for a rebuilding Las Vegas squad.

"Wilson’s deal should start at between $30 and $35 million per year, with incentives and escalators similar to [Geno] Smith’s," Rolfe wrote. "Any team looking to sign Wilson should give him the opportunity to earn $40-45 million a year with those incentives and escalators."

Here is the difference, though: Smith—who ironically replaced Wilson in Seattle—was coming off of a brilliant 2022 campaign when the Seahawks gave him that three-year, $75 million contract. He was also significantly younger than Wilson is now.