Seahawks Final Report Card: Big Questions Loom For Bobby Wagner, Linebacker Corps
Despite finishing with a winning record for a second straight season, the Seattle Seahawks weren't fortunate enough to earn a playoff spot in 2023, bringing a disappointing season to a close earlier than expected.
Bringing the band back together to an extent, Seattle re-signed legend Bobby Wagner to a one-year deal to pair up with Jordyn Brooks and statistically, the two linebackers impressed with nearly 300 combined tackles and eight sacks. In a reserve role, Devin Bush performed inconsistently with few opportunities, coming close to 40 tackles despite only starting twice and being a healthy scratch on several occasions.
Continuing my annual post-season report card series, I hand out my year-end grades with areas of strength and areas of improvement while taking a look into the crystal ball to see what's next for the Seahawks in the middle at linebacker.
*All stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted.
Bobby Wagner
Overall Grade: 84.0
Areas of Strength: Becoming only the third player to accomplish the feat, Wagner eclipsed 100 tackles for a 12th consecutive season and led the league with 183 combined stops. Consistently making stops behind or near the line of scrimmage, he finished with 11 tackles for loss, a league-best 48 run stops, and an average depth of tackle of 2.6 yards, which tied for 10th best among qualified linebackers. Leaving few tackles on the field per usual, he also posted an excellent 4.8 percent missed tackle rate and missed just nine combined tackle attempts in 17 starts.
Continuing to evolve as a player, Wagner enjoyed another strong season as a blitzing linebacker from the middle of the defense. Though he didn't quite equal his career-high six sacks with the Rams in 2022, he finished with 3.5 sacks and 17 quarterback pressures on 81 pass rushing snaps, which helped him earn Second-Team All-Pro honors for the fourth time in his illustrious career.
Still one of the NFL's best tackling machines, Bobby Wagner added 3.5 sacks and nearly 20 quarterback pressures for good measure in another All-Pro campaign.
© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Areas of Improvement: While Wagner did generate three pass breakups, his slowly diminishing athleticism continues to create coverage limitations for him at this stage of his career. Targeted 60 times by quarterbacks, he allowed 49 receptions for 515 yards, 332 yards after the catch, and two touchdowns without any interceptions. Tested often by opponents matched up against running backs and tight ends, he allowed a 113.5 passer rating in coverage, the highest passer rating allowed in 12 seasons as a pro.
Jordyn Brooks
Overall Grade: 81.0
Areas of Strength: Making a remarkable comeback from a torn ACL suffered last January, Brooks successfully worked his way back into the lineup for Seattle's season opener and managed to start 16 games, putting up a quality stat line with 111 combined tackles and eight tackles for loss. Despite seeing his snap percentage reduced substantially by a higher usage of nickel and dime sets, he totaled 63 combined tackles defending the run and a respectable 6.7 percent run stop percentage.
After only producing two sacks and six quarterback hits in his first three seasons combined, Brooks hit his stride as a pass rusher when given the opportunity to blitz. Receiving the fifth-best pass rushing grade (85.0) for off-ball linebackers, he set new career-highs with 13 pressures and 4.5 sacks, ranking in the top five in the latter category. In addition, he forced a fumble and recovered a fumble while returning his first career interception for six points in a loss to the 49ers.
Areas of Improvement: Coming off a severe injury, Brooks wasn't as sharp finishing tackles as he had been in his first three seasons. Struggling to bring ball carriers to the ground and take adequate pursuit angles, he produced a career-worst 21 missed tackles and a 16.5 percent missed tackle rate. Playing through a painful ankle sprain late in the season only exacerbated this issue.
Devin Bush
Overall Grade: 73.0
Areas of Strength: When forced into action to replace a banged-up Brooks late in the season, Bush did a superb job of finishing plays when he got his hands on opposing ball carriers. Producing one of the cleanest tackling stat lines on Seattle's entire team, he racked up 37 combined tackles with only two misses and a sterling 5.7 percent missed tackle rate. He also made quite a few splash plays in limited action, approaching his career high with five tackles for loss and a respectable average depth of tackle at 3.4 yards.
Areas of Improvement: Bush deserves props for finishing tackles, but as has been a problem for him throughout his career, he struggled to get off of blocks consistently and allowed runners to get to the second level with little resistance at times. In coverage, he allowed 16 completions on 20 targets without any pass breakups, failing to make any impact plays in that capacity.
What's Next?
If there's a position on Seattle's roster that could look completely different in 2024, linebacker might be the best bet. The trio of Wagner, Brooks, and Bush will all be unrestricted free agents when the new league year starts on March 13 and without a head coach named yet, it remains to be seen which of those players, if any, will be prioritized to re-sign.
In the short-term, Wagner has demonstrated over the past two seasons that he still has what it takes to be an elite run defender and efficient blitzer. But he will turn 34 years old in July and entering his 13th season, a new coach may prefer to have younger, more athletic players in the middle to combat modern NFL offenses. As for Brooks, his price tag will be the deciding factor on whether or not the Seahawks opt to bring him back for a second contract, while Bush should be affordable as a reserve if the team wants to retain him.
Regardless of who returns, Seattle likely will be in the market for long-term solutions at linebacker in free agency and the upcoming NFL draft. While the coaching decision looms large in such decisions, it would be a surprise if the team doesn't have a few newcomers added to the mix by the time OTAs kick off in May.
