Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner 'Excited to Be Back,’ Dons No. 54 Again in Return
As the Seattle Seahawks returned to action to kick off OTAs and usher in the final phase of their offseason on Monday, plenty of new faces hit the practice field donning a blue helmet and practice jersey for the first time.
But while he's technically a newcomer after spending a vacation season with the Los Angeles Rams, few know the VMAC better than Bobby Wagner, who spent the first 10 seasons of his future Hall of Fame career with the Seahawks. Sporting his beloved No. 54 once again, the veteran linebacker soaked up his return to the Pacific Northwest amid a beautiful spring day, expressing his elation to be back with his original team.
"I mean, obviously the main thing is the main thing but the feeling is always different," Wagner told reporters of being back in his old stomping grounds. "Like you come back, there's pretty much not too many people that you play with when I first got here but there's some familiar faces still and I still understand that the whole vibe and the whole culture here. I'm excited to be back."
NFL rosters undergo significant changes year-to-year, so even though he only was gone for a year, Wagner will have no shortage of new teammates to get to know. With Jordyn Brooks recovering from a torn ACL, he will be working alongside free agent signee Devin Bush throughout OTAs and Seattle's upcoming mandatory minicamp, while he will have to develop chemistry on the field with several new pieces along the defensive line, including defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones.
Away from veterans such as Jones and safety Julian Love, Wagner will also have to take on a mentor role for an incoming 2023 rookie class featuring top-five pick Devon Witherspoon, second-round pick Derick Hall, and day three selections Cameron Young and Mike Morris, rookies who could all play substantial snaps right away. Over the next few weeks leading up towards training camp, his goal is to find out what makes those players tick and take them under his wing.
With that said, based on past precedent, Witherspoon, Hall, and other first-year players shouldn't expect Wagner to call them by name anytime soon. Just ask Brooks how that goes.
"I'm always a guy that you just kind of check out their personality and just how they vibe with the culture, but as far as like football-wise, it's really tough to figure out who is who until we get in training camp and put the pads on and everybody talks a good game until the pads get on," Wagner said of his first impressions of Seattle's rookie class. "But from what I've seen so far, I've been really impressed and all of them seem eager to learn. When you walk into the building, they have got their playbooks open, which is not as normal as people may think because there's a lot of distractions, but I'm excited to see their growth."
Between the lines, acclimating to playing with new teammates won't be the only change for Wagner entering his second stint with the Seahawks. He will be re-joining a defense running a different scheme with a wider array of coverages under coordinator Clint Hurtt, who received a promotion from defensive line coach before the 2022 season, presenting a bit of a learning curve for the seasoned vet as he will be asked to cover more ground with more responsibilities than he did earlier in his career.
But while Wagner is excited to learn the fine details scheme-wise in his 12th season , the transition shouldn't be a difficult one thanks to his lone season playing in Los Angeles. Indicating the Rams played him "more to the boundary" and pass strength than he did with the Seahawks and fitted the run a bit differently, he acknowledged his experience in that system will have extensive carry over to Hurtt's Vic Fangio-style scheme to blend with concepts the team has ran in previous seasons.
Additionally, Wagner said Seattle already had been implementing new coverages during the couple seasons before his departure, shifting away from Cover 3-heavy tendencies from the "Legion of Boom" era, further easing the transition.
"I think there's like kind of a combination of a lot of defenses, but there's some stuff that we ran in the past, some stuff that I got introduced to at the Rams," Wagner explained. "So this is the time to build a defense and so we are just trying new looks, new formations and I'm excited to just learn and get to know everybody again."
Back roaming the middle of the defense as he did for a decade, the Seahawks will be counting on the soon-to-be 33-year old Wagner to continue playing at an elite level and bring outstanding leadership to the table. Exhibiting minimal signs of decline in his time away, he earned Second-Team All-Pro distinction last season with the Rams, racking up 140 tackles, a career-high six sacks, two interceptions, and 10 tackles for loss, showing he had plenty left in the tank.
Though some speculated after he re-signed in March that Seattle may deploy him in a more reduced role at this stage of his career, Wagner told reporters on Monday that he expects to wear the green dot on his helmet once again as the defensive on-field play caller. This would suggest the team expects he will be on the field every play, as NFL rules allow only one player to have the green dot and be able to communicate with the coaching staff on the field between plays.
In other words, what's old is new and what's new is old for Wagner and the Seahawks, as both the player and team hope to enjoy the same success in 2023 they did in their first 10 years together. Even with a few new wrinkles thrown into the hat, everything feels as if he never left to begin with.
"Feels good to be back. Nice to be back in 54. Nice to be back in some beautiful weather. It's cool."
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