Somehow former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is still doing his thing. Number 54 just finished playing his 13th season in the NFL with the Washington Commanders. Not only was it a great year for Washington, Wagner is still performing at an incredibly high level, especially given his age.
For his efforts this season Wagner earned his 10th career trip to the Pro Bowl. He was even good enough to get a couple of Defensive Player of the Year votes. So, what's next for Bobby? If the Commanders decide not to re-sign him Wagner will become an unrestricted free agent again.
If that happens, one analyst believes Wagner could wind up back in the NFC West. In a piece breaking down the league's best pending free agent linebackers, Pro Football Focus named Pete Carroll's Raiders a potential landing spot, as well as the Los Angeles Rams.
"The Rams are quite familiar with the mercenary linebacker, as they've seen him ball out for this defense in 2022, where Wagner earned an impressive 90.7 overall grade (at 32 years old). Los Angeles finds itself in need of both help at linebacker – only have Omar Speights under contract next season – and veteran leadership to help develop this young and talented defense."
Wagner of course spent the 2022 season with the Rams, initially signing a lucrative five-year deal but eventually getting released after just one year. That could be an obstacle for Les Snead and the Rams front office to getting Bobby back. Their need at linebacker is pretty dire, though - as the normally cool-headed Sean McVay snapped on a reporter who asked about Ernest Jones being traded to the Titans before this season began.
Jones was later traded to the Seahawks at midseason, when he engineered a major defensive turnaround after taking over at middle linebacker. Despite giving up a fourth-round pick in the trade Seattle hasn't been able to get an extension done yet, leaving open the possibility that Jones will walk in a few weeks and the Seahawks will have spent an early Day 3 pick on a half-year rental.
If Ernest Jones does end up signing elsewhere then Bobby Wagner could once again be on Seattle's radar. While he's not a long-term option, Wagner clearly still has plenty of juice left in him and as far as we're concerned he can have his old job back as long as he wants it.
