Amid Disappointing Season For Franchise, Bobby Wagner Ponders Future With Seahawks
RENTON, WA - While the Seahawks won't be making a playoff appearance for the first time since 2017, Bobby Wagner certainly can't be blamed for the team falling short of lofty expectations.
Still among the best players in the NFL in his 10th season, Wagner already has earned his eighth Pro Bowl selection and broke his own franchise record for tackles in a single season in Sunday's 25-24 loss to Chicago. The future Hall of Fame linebacker currently has a league-best 170 tackles manning the middle of Seattle's defense and could be in the running for a seventh First-Team All-Pro selection.
Looking at his career holistically, Wagner has now surpassed 100 tackles in each of his 10 NFL seasons and if he stays atop the leaderboard, he will be the NFL's top tackler for the third time in his illustrious career.
Despite his continued excellence, however, with the Seahawks unexpectedly slumping to a 10-loss season, Wagner admitted to reporters on Wednesday that his future has been on his mind. Set to turn 32 in July and carrying an expensive cap hit north of $20.35 million in 2022, he understands it's not out of the realm of possibility he could play elsewhere next year.
"You think about it, you think about what the next year looks like and what the future holds," Wagner said. "This was a season that I don't think we all planned for. We didn't plan for the season to go this way, and so obviously, there's going to be changes. Whether or not I'm part of those changes, I don't know."
Moving on from Wagner, who would arguably be on the Seahawks "Mount Rushmore" as one of the top four players in franchise history, would not be a well-received move. Considering his production hasn't waned, at least as a tackler, and the fact he remains popular off the field as well, many fans would be taken back by such a decision.
But while Wagner still has racked up tackles in bunches, much of that has had to do with the sheer number of plays Seattle's defense has been on the field this year. Looking at other statistics, his play has shown signs of decline. Per Pro Football Focus, he already has missed 14 tackles, the second-highest mark of his career, and he hasn't been near as impactful of a difference maker blitzing quarterbacks (one sack) or in coverage (two pass breakups) compared to earlier seasons.
When asked to compare this season to previous ones, Wagner indicated he would take more time assessing his play after the season concludes in a couple of weeks.
"I haven't really looked at everything," Wagner responded. "I feel like there's been areas I've improved on, there's been areas I need to improve on, so it's hard to say with two games left. I've just been trying to get better and stay hungry and stay complacent with everything going on. That's what the great ones do."
Now with 10 years of tread on his tires, Wagner doesn't move as well as he once did and while he's still a quality athlete for his position, his overall athleticism has slowly diminished over time. One play illustrated this regression in last week's defeat, as the veteran was in perfect position to stop Cole Kmet well short of the sticks on a third down catch. But the tight end immediately sprinted past him and he couldn't track down Kmet until he already had passed the first down marker.
Such plays have become more frequent in Wagner's game, particularly in coverage, and as he continues to age, athletic deficiencies will inevitably become a greater hinderance to his game. For that reason alone, the Seahawks may explore restructuring his contract or trying to find a trade partner to minimize costs. If another team acquired him prior to June 1, the team would save more than $16 million with the remainder of his contract being non-guaranteed and incur just a $3.75 dead cap hit.
With that said, Wagner's incredible football IQ and stellar tackling technique should allow him to age more gracefully than most linebackers. His leadership presence in Seattle's locker room also cannot be understated, as trying to replace him in that capacity would be extremely difficult. Add in the fact other teams likely won't be willing to give up more than a third-round pick for him at this stage of his career, and the money saved doesn't justify making such a bold move.
With two games left to play against the Lions and Cardinals, Wagner hopes he will remain with the only team he has ever known in 2022. But he also has seen several high-profile teammates such as Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and most recently K.J. Wright depart over the years for different reasons and even after putting up gaudy numbers again this year, understands as well as anyone that the NFL is a business first and foremost.
As the Seahawks prepare for what could be an offseason of dramatic turnover everywhere from the front office down to the coaching staff and the roster, Wagner plans to let his play continue doing the talking and let the dominos fall as they will in the spring.
"All I can control are these last two games and figure it out from there. Whatever the team thinks is the best thing to do moving forward, we'll see how that plays out."
