Warren Moon on Russell Wilson: Seahawks should keep him “happy,” not “mess with his mind” -- and have a deal done already

Warren Moon thinks the Seahawks should beware not to “mess with the mind” of Russell Wilson entering the coming season.

The Hall of Fame quarterback who played in 25 games for Seattle over the 1997 and ‘98 seasons is now its color analyst on radio game broadcasts. He told Rich Eisen of NFL Network today while discussing the status of ongoing contract negotiations between the NFC champions and their two-time Super Bowl QB that “you want to keep him happy” and “this (contract) should have been done by now.”

It’s not, as perhaps you’ve heard or read.

An NFL Network report from Ian Rapoport July 16 stated if a deal isn’t done by the time Wilson’s is on the field for Friday morning’s first practice of Seahawks training camp in Renton talks will cease for the season.

One fact lost in this supposed deadline worth noting: Rapoport was citing in that report only the past MO in baseball and football deals of Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers and not a direct source, unidentified or not, with knowledge of these specific talks. It has since taken on the belief Rodgers has come out and set a deadline. Or, as Moon said to Eisen today, some believe the Seahawks have set this supposed deadline.

Rodgers said in May neither he nor the Seahawks see any deadline in these talks. And when I asked Pete Carroll late last month if he and the team considered the matter tabled until after the season if they couldn’t get a deal done with Wilson before camp begins the Seahawks coach said: "No, I don't care how long we keep working. Whatever it takes to do the right thing.”

It’s an old adage in labor negotiations from all professions that deadlines spur deals. So it’s conceivable Wilson’s camp wanted the view of a Friday deadline widely known. We about to see in the next 40 or so hours if the apparent spur works here.

You can hear all that Moon said to Eisen here:

No surprise a quarterback would back a quarterback in this case.

This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Warren Moon on Russell Wilson: Seahawks should keep him “happy,” not “mess with his mind” -- and have a deal done already."