Al Woods: 'Winning Culture' Will Help Seahawks Withstand Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner Exits
While the right term to characterize their current situation can be debated - it can be called a rebuild, a retool, or a reload - the Seahawks are in the midst of arguably the most turbulent transition of their 47-year history.
Last month, less than two weeks before the start of free agency, Seattle traded star quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver for a bevy of draft picks and three veteran players. The organization also released All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, who eventually signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams to stay in the NFC West and play his former team twice a year.
Much to the dismay of the fan base, the Seahawks parted ways with a pair of Hall of Fame talents and two of the most popular players ever to play for the organization in a 24-hour window. Between them, they made 17 Pro Bowls, earned nine All-Pro selections, and led the team to eight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl XLVIII victory. They also were invaluable leaders on the field and in the locker room.
With those moves, Seattle emphatically put the dagger in the coffin for the franchise's most successful era, leaving the team with no players remaining on the roster from its most recent Super Bowl squad in 2014.
But while the outside perception is that the Seahawks have launched a full-scale rebuild with Wilson and Wagner gone, coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have publicly rejected the notion they are starting over. The decisions to re-sign Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs and running back Rashaad Penny in free agency suggest they intend to compete in 2022.
Count veteran defensive tackle Al Woods, who re-signed with the team in March, among those on the roster who are buying what Carroll and Schneider are selling, in large part due to the culture that has been built over the past 12 years.
"The culture we have is a winning culture. Us being competitive at practice," Woods told reporters on Thursday. "It's not going to be the same group of starters. However, everybody has got to go out there and compete. The best players are going to play. I feel like once we get out there and we start the comradery, the togetherness, and start working with each other. Iron sharpens iron, I think we're going to be all right.”
Woods, who turns 35 in May, has spent three separate stints with Seattle since Carroll and Schneider first arrived together in 2010. He played in two games in 2011 before finally latching on as a full-time player with Pittsburgh the following season. After several successful seasons in Tennessee and Indianapolis, he returned to the Pacific Northwest for a single season in 2019 and after sitting out 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he came back once again last season.
Players have come and gone over the years and Woods has played with a number of different teammates bouncing around with various organizations in 11 NFL seasons, but the culture has remained the same with Carroll and Schneider at the helm. For that reason, and the fact the organization has consistently competed for playoff spots, returning on a two-year contract was an easy decision for him despite Wilson and Wagner's departures.
“I just love it out there. It came down to just me being where I wanted to be and I wanted to be back in Seattle," Woods remarked. "It worked out, it was real quick. Then, we got to the numbers, where they were. I was just like, 'Look, man, I'm good, I don't need no more. I'm going to go ahead and come back, I'm straight.'"
While Woods wasn't asked about the challenges of replacing Wilson under center or the arrival of Drew Lock as a possible successor, he spoke at length about how Wagner's high football IQ and playmaking ability impacted Seattle's defense and how the perennial All-Pro helped him make plays in the trenches.
Considering Wagner lobbied for Woods to be named to the Pro Bowl last season for his efforts making tackles in the backfield, eating up blocks, and keeping the linebacker free to make tackles, it's clear they held mutual admiration for one another and will miss playing together.
“He's a hell of a communicator. Hell of a communicator, hell of a leader," Woods said of Wagner. "You know, the dude could see stuff that other people couldn't see. He could always tell me, 'Hey bro, the play might be going this way. Let's play our eyes this way.' And a lot of times that stuff would work. I would go in early to [the facility], maybe just sit down and talk with him."
As Woods attested to, players of Wagner's excellence can't simply be replaced. He's one of only three players since 1987 to register 100 or more tackles in 10 consecutive seasons and his eight combined All-Pro selections rank first in franchise history, including surpassing Hall of Fame left tackle Walter Jones. The leadership void left behind by his departure won't be filled by any one player either.
But to the credit of Seattle's front office, the franchise geared up for life after Wagner by selecting Jordyn Brooks in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After getting his feet wet in a situational role splitting reps with K.J. Wright as a rookie, he became a full-time starter at weakside linebacker last year and set a new franchise record with 184 tackles. After the season, he earned the first of what could be many All-Pro votes coming his way in the future.
From Woods' perspective, while he won't anoint Brooks as the second-coming of Wagner, he believes he has the talent and skill set to make a name for himself as one of the best linebackers in the NFL in his own right. Holding serve at nose tackle, he plans to do his part to help the youngster keep racking up tackles in bunches.
“I mean, there's only one Bobby, but there's only one Jordyn Brooks too. I feel that he'll do a great job at it. I think he's going to be different at it. I think that he's going to excel at it and I'm excited to see it. I'm going to do what I got to do to protect him. Make sure nobody touches him and make sure he breaks the record again next year.”
At this stage of his career, Woods indicated he isn't playing just to cash a pay check. His ultimate goal remains to win a Super Bowl before he hangs up his cleats, which obviously will be a far more difficult goal to achieve with Wilson and Wagner now wearing different uniforms. Finding capable successors for both players will be critical to the team's chances of avoiding another down season and quickly trending back towards contention.
But with Carroll still manning the sidelines and the culture he and Schneider have instilled over the years still intact, Woods remains confident veterans such as himself coupled with an incoming rookie class can pick up the slack and allow them to return to their winning ways in quick fashion.
"I want to win simple as that. I felt like the Seattle Seahawks lost some key pieces. But before Bobby and Russ, they were doing their thing. But you know, it was a collective group. I think that us having a collective group of men, that's willing to work towards that common goal, we can get that done.”
