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The Washington Commanders put together their defense in the offseason without making a splashy move — meaning no one got a big enough contract that it grabbed headlines.
One area in particular where they seem to have made a pair of borderline genius moves is at linebacker, where they signed 2 free agents who have become the cornerstone of their defense with Frankie Luvu and 10-time NFL All-Pro Bobby Wagner.
Both players are having All-Pro seasons. Wagner leads the Commanders with 91 tackles and Luvu has 71 tackles and leads the team with 7.0 sacks.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine predicts the 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs could be the next stop for the 34-year-old, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks following the 2013 season.
Wagner is playing on a 1-year, $6.5 million contract he signed in March 2024.
“… the Chiefs are going to continue to be a destination for aging veterans who want to chase a ring. Bobby Wagner, if he wants to play his age-35 season, could be a great example,” Ballentine wrote. “He’s shown he can still be an impact player in Washington this season, but he might be willing to take a slightly smaller deal to join the Chiefs pursuit of a Lombardi (Trophy) in 2025.”
It’s Wagner’s age — not his production — that would seem to be preventing him from getting a more lucrative contract.
Time to Start Fitting Wagner for Gold Jacket
Wagner came to the Commanders after leading the NFL with 183 tackles in 2023 with the Seattle Seahawks and seems destined to one day have his bust reside at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Wagner has led the NFL in total tackles three times, solo tackles once, assisted tackles four times, safeties once and fumbles returned for touchdowns once, when he returned 2 fumbles for touchdowns in 2015.
He’s also a 9-time Pro Bowler and fifth on the NFL’s career tackles list with 1,797 tackles headed into Week 12.
Wagner played the first 10 seasons of his career with the Seahawks before signing a 5-year, $50 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 — a season most notable for when Wagner leveled a flare-wielding fan who ran on the field in the middle of a road game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Wagner spent one season with the Rams before returning to Seattle in 2023.
Commanders Still Control Playoff Destiny
Despite consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles that have dropped their record to 7-4, the Commanders are still very much in control of their own destiny when it comes to the playoffs.
Washington has back-to-back home games against the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans before their bye in Week 14, then returns to action at the New Orleans Saints in Week 15 followed by home games against the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons before their regular-season finale against the Cowboys in Week 18.
If the season ended today, the Commanders would have the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoffs and, according to NFL.com, have an 81 percent chance of making the playoffs with 6 games remaining in the regular season.
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