Of the notable NFL personnel moves that went down on Tuesday, one in particular likely caught the eye of Cowboys fans. Whether it may have also caused some quick huddling among the Dallas coaching staff and front office will just as likely be the source of much speculation.
The Seattle Seahawks released linebacker Bobby Wagner shortly after their decision to trade away quarterback Russell Wilson. Wagner and Wilson represented the strongest remaining on-the-field ties to that franchise’s Super Bowl championship team of 2013.
Now as a new chapter looms for the 31-year-old Wagner, one has to wonder if his former defensive coordinator will push to bring him to Dallas.
Dan Quinn has called Wagner the best linebacker he’s ever coached. That’s high praise, considering the record-setting season that Micah Parsons just turned in.
Still, Wagner is an eight-time Pro Bowler and a six-time first-team All-Pro. He’s led the league twice in tackles and is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. But his best days aren’t just in the rearview mirror; Wagner started 16 games last year, and his 170 tackles placed him in third place leaguewide for the 2021 season. The Athletic ranks him the best linebacker in this free agent class.
The thought of now pairing him with the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on the same defense is truly tantalizing, as the Cowboys are in need of help at the position.
Dan Quinn considers Bobby Wagner the greatest linebacker he’s coached, so I fully expect the #Cowboys DC to encourage the front office to pursue Wagner as he becomes a free agent available to sign immediately.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 9, 2022
Comparisons between Parsons and Wagner were flying as early as the night Parsons was drafted 12th overall by Dallas back in April.
“I don’t really recall Bobby and the player he was coming out [of the draft],” head coach Mike McCarthy said that night, “but I think Bobby Wagner is an
extraordinary football player. He was one of my favorite defensive players to compete against. We’ve had some battles with that Seattle defense, and he’s a good pressure player. I do think that’s a good comparison, because they really asked Bobby to go wide and play the SAM DPR [strongside defensive pass rush]. Micah does have an ability, and that’s definitely part of our defense where we will carry over from last year.”
True to their word, Cowboys coaches allowed Parsons to line up at spots other than linebacker, often attacking the quarterback from the edge. It worked far better than anyone anticipated; Parsons ended his first season with 13 sacks, as just a part-time pass rusher.
Quinn brought up the comparison again in early December as Parsons was terrorizing the league’s offenses and even making a run at NFL Defensive Player of the Year talk.
“He is definitely a rare player, because we play him off the ball. We play him on the line. I’ve certainly been around a lot of pass rushers who’ve got amazing stuff off the edge,” Quinn told reporters. “I’ve been [around] off-the-ball linebackers who’ve had exceptional careers in all different spaces. A Bobby Wagner, just to name one. But it is rare when a guy has pass rushing from the line of scrimmage and the run-and-hit factor of a linebacker. So that’s what makes his game unique.”
Parsons is without question the defense’s best player and its leader of the future, but at just 22, he still has plenty to learn. He’d also be the first to admit it. The Penn State product has shown a thirst for knowledge on how to improve his game and even how he carries himself in the pros; Wagner could provide boatloads of veteran mentorship while still contributing at an elite level alongside him.
Leighton Vander Esch is set to become a free agent, and the team does not seem overly eager to break the bank for him. The same goes for Keanu Neal. Behind them, there’s just the seldom-used Luke Gifford (restricted free agent) and Francis Bernard (exclusive rights free agent).
But is reeling in Wagner a move that the cash-strapped Cowboys could afford? Despite restructuring the deals of Dak Prescott and Zack Martin to create cap space, they’ve already placed an expensive $10.93 franchise tag on Dalton Schultz. They asked DeMarcus Lawrence to take a pay cut (which he refused), are thought to be ready to release Amari Cooper, and may allow Randy Gregory and Pro Bowl punter Bryan Anger (among the team’s 20-some soon-to-be free agents) to walk, all cost-cutting measures.
So suddenly jumping into the bidding war that will follow Wagner seems like a counterintuitive long shot. NFL insider Jane Slater says that the Cowboys brass “aren’t kicking the idea around… yet.”
It’s my annual ruin hopes and dreams of #Cowboys at play in FA tweet…Bobby Wagner is now this season’s Earl Thomas but I did my due diligence…they aren’t kicking the idea around…yet. But as this always goes in Dallas…highly unlikely
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) March 9, 2022
It could come down to just how much Quinn would like to get Wagner back in his fold, if he could convince the Joneses that it’d be worth moving more money around, and whether Wagner would forego higher payday offers to try to resurrect a little of that “Legion of Boom” magic in Dallas.
Given the Cowboys’ current cap situation and their tendency to sit tight during free agency, this move feels doubtful. But with all the doom and gloom surrounding the roster prognosis in Dallas these days, it’s a fun what-if for fans to imagine.
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