Former Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner may have lost a step, but he’s still one of the game’s top defenders. After the first day of the legal tampering period, Wagner remains unsigned. Heading into today’s action, he has been ranked the fifth-best free agent still on the market by Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield at Touchdown Wire.
Wagner was unceremoniously released by Seattle eight days ago, the same day the team agreed to trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Combined with the unpopular Wilson deal, cutting Wagner without even telling him has rubbed a whole lot of fans the wrong way.
Several teams have been reported to have interest in Wagner, including the Cowboys and all three of the Seahawks’ division rivals. Rejoining Dan Quinn in Dallas would make for a nice story, but obviously the team that gives Wagner the best chance at winning a second Super Bowl ring is the LA Rams, who could also use an off-ball linebacker like Wagner – certainly more than the 49ers – who have the brilliant Fred Warner – and the Cardinals – who have the rising Isaiah Simmons.
Wherever Wagner signs, the way he was released is a black eye for this organization, which seems to have fallen out with just about every other star player to come along over the last 10 years. It’s tough to blame them for the way it went down with Richard Sherman and to a lesser extent Earl Thomas. It’s also understandable to trade Russell Wilson now before he loses value. However, Pete Carroll and John Schneider’s treatment of Wagner is the ugliest episode yet – highlighted by the fact that Wagner has never remotely done anything to embarrass the team either on or off the field. He deserved far better than being shoved out the door without any warning on the same day as Wilson like an afterthought.
Anyway, back to the 2022 free agent class… yesterday the Seahawks stuck to re-signing their own players, including safety Quandre Diggs and defensive tackle Al Woods, indicating a total rebuild is not underway.
The team has plenty of cash to make a splash signing at some point in the next few days, though. The four players ranked ahead of Wagner on Touchdown Wire’s list are all worth a look: Rams EDGE Von Miller, Chiefs DB Tyrann Mathieu, Saints LT Terron Armstead and Cardinals EDGE Chandler Jones would all make a real impact for Seattle.
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