Getty The Seahawks are being pressed to move on from star linebacker Bobby Wagner (left).
The Seattle Seahawks have decisions to make this offseason if the team hopes to once again return to being a contender. Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd believes it is time for the Seahawks to rebuild and suggests the team start by trading star linebacker Bobby Wagner.
“It’s interesting because I said the other day I’d move Bobby Wagner, I’d get a third-round pick,” Cowherd explained during a November 29 episode of his podcast. “I’d go to Russell [Wilson] and try to renegotiate his contract. I’d keep Duane Brown if I could, move Jamal Adams and get the right trade back.
“I’d do it, but they are so bad on the right side of the offensive line, center, right guard, right tackle. They’re so weak at corner, the defensive front is hit and miss. There are a lot of times in the NFL, there’s a team that’s rebuilding that doesn’t want to acknowledge it’s rebuilding.”
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Wagner Has One More Season Remaining on His 3-Year, $54 Million Deal
Rookie Bobby Wagner. @Bwagz (2012)
Wagner has earned a 73.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, his lowest score since 2015. A third-round selection feels like a drop in the bucket for a player that has been the cornerstone of the Seahawks defense dating back to the Legion of Boom days.
The star linebacker has one more season remaining on his three-year, $54 million contract. Wagner is slated to have a $16.3 million salary next season. If Carroll is once again the Seahawks head coach in 2022 as expected, it is hard to imagine the team moving on from Wagner.
It Is Hard to Imagine Carroll Signing off on a Wagner Trade
Bobby Wagner LEVELED two blockers and got the sack 🤯
(via @thecheckdown)
Anything is possible in the NFL as we saw the Seahawks surprisingly move away from linebacker K.J. Wright last offseason. Former Seahawks quarterback and current ESPN 710 Seattle host Jake Heaps addressed the rumors swirling around Wagner’s future last April.
“The only reason why this is a question is because Bobby Wagner’s contract is a massive outlier in the landscape of linebackers,” Heaps noted on April 24, 2021. “…I think Bobby Wagner, without question, finishes his career as a Seahawk, I really truly do. I think he is a mainstay, he is a staple of this program. He is a player that when you talk about [general manager] John Schneider and Pete Carroll and everything they want in that building, Bobby Wagner exemplifies all of those qualities.”
Wagner Has Had 9 Straight Seasons With 100 or More Tackles
Wagner may not be having his best season but the linebacker is still playing at a high level. The star defender notched his ninth straight season with 100 or more tackles. Earlier this season, Carroll praised Wagner’s consistency throughout his career.
“It’s such a statement of consistency to come back, physically fit enough to accomplish that [100 tackles],” Carroll noted during his November 10 press conference. “And he’s a marvelous athlete, he’s got a great work ethic. He’s just, it takes everything connected to be able to pull those kinds of numbers for so many years, year after year after year.
“And he’s off to a tremendous start, I mean, this is early in the year to be that close to 100 tackles. So, he’s doing great and he’s feeling good. And it’s just a marvelous statement about consistency and you can see why he’s heralded around here and we love him so much. And he’s been such a terrific leader and all of that.”