NFL Rumors: Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and More Buzz

With free agency on the horizon and the NFL Scouting Combine underway, essentially ushering in draft season, the rumors are flying in fast and furious from around the NFL. 

Below, you'll find three players who are receiving a lot of buzz at the moment in a quarterback-centric rumors roundup. 

Russell Wilson

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Much of the talk surrounding the Seattle Seahawks this offseason—beyond questionable play calls or Marshawn Lynch's future with the team—has been Russell Wilson's contract situation. Wilson will sign a mega-deal paying him $20 million per year but forcing the Seahawks to get creative with other contracts.

But what if that isn't as inevitable as we all think? What if the Seahawks will get creative with Wilson's deal and—gasp!—guarantee the entirety of the contract?

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com thinks something along those lines could happen:

This isn't as crazy as it sounds. Earlier in the week, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times spoke to former NFL agent and current CBS Sports writer Joel Corry and Over the Cap's Jason Fitzgerald, who both envisioned a scenario where Wilson would play out his rookie deal and then sign a fully guaranteed contract.

And on Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports said he also believed Wilson would play out his rookie deal, noting that, "Wilson is uber-positive, and some who know the young man well believe he is quite capable of going through this process, and, if what's on the table doesn't make sense long-term, they believe Wilson will play it out, and have Seattle in the position to pay him big time, or franchise him, in 2016."

Well then.

In many ways, it makes sense. Wilson seems like the sort of guy who will think of the team first, and the Seahawks are smart enough to know they need to respect Wilson by offering him a fair deal. With the team dedicated to Wilson—who is the consummate professional, it should be noted—a fully guaranteed deal isn't quite as horrifying as it might be for a less reliable player. And Wilson would also be helping the team save cap space by taking less money per year in exchange for having every dollar guaranteed. 

It's the sort of compromise that could only happen in a "perfect storm" situation, but Wilson and the Seahawks have a good enough relationship, with minimal ego involved, to come to such an agreement. It would set a very interesting precedent for franchise quarterbacks, sure, but it nonetheless appears to be a very real possibility.

Jameis Winston

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

It's pretty early in the draft process to truly know who will end up going No. 1 overall. But unless the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are staging an elaborate smoke screen, it sure sounds like the team is leaning toward drafting Jameis Winston. 

Rich Cimini of ESPN New York was certainly hearing as much:

"

It sounds like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sold on Winston and will take him with the first pick. Some familiar with the Bucs' thinking make it sound like it's a done deal. The Bucs already have done an inordinate amount of snooping into Winston's checkered past, and they seem convinced he won't be a problem child in the NFL

"

On talent alone, Winston is a pretty logical choice for the top overall pick. He can make all of the throws, he has prototypical size and he's shown great poise in the clutch. But much more goes into selecting a face of the franchise than a talent evaluation, and Winston has some off-field and character concerns that teams are looking into during the draft process. 

Not everyone believes Winston will cause trouble for teams at the next level, however. Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians is among them, per Don Banks of Sports Illustrated: 

Meanwhile, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report heard from one scout who thought quite highly of Winston:

Of course, there is always room for a bit of counterpoint, here provided by former NFL executive Joe Banner:

Banner may be right, but only the Bucs have the top overall pick. Winston makes far more sense than either Mariota in Tampa Bay's scheme or continuing on with Mike Glennon as the starting quarterback. Thus, for the moment it seems as though he is the clear frontrunner to be the top overall pick.

Sam Bradford

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

The St. Louis Rams have a very difficult decision to make on Sam Bradford, their oft-injured starting quarterback who missed the 2014 season and has missed a total of 31 games in his career. While some folks think the Rams should trade Bradford this season, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report is hearing the team could go in a different direction:

Basically, it sounds as though the Rams are allowing Bradford to seek a trade because they know he's unlikely to find any team that will pay big money for the oft-injured star, giving them more leverage when restructuring his deal. Besides, trading Bradford when his value is at an all-time low doesn't make a ton of sense for St. Louis. 

The Rams may claim they are trying to be fair to Bradford by allowing him to seek trades, and that may partially be the case, but it just seems like a sound negotiating strategy by the team. Don't be surprised when Bradford is the team's starting quarterback next year while playing under a new contract.