Seahawks LB who is among the league’s finest, returns to rival

admin | November 16, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Bobby Wagner believes that Sunday’s Seahawks vs. Rams annual matchup in Los Angeles means the same thing as it always has.

Wagner, who attended high school in nearby Ontario after being born in Los Angeles, stated, “Me going back, being able to play at home.” Just the next game, but it’s a huge one. Fun should ensue.

He maintains that he has no genuine emotions, positive or negative, toward the Rams, for whom he played at this time last season.

Regarding the Rams aspect, Wagner stated, “It’s one year, so,” making it obvious that he wasn’t thinking of much of an angle.

Wagner must nevertheless find some meaning in the fact that, by all objective standards, he is playing the same as he did at age 23 even though he is returning to his childhood home and playing for the team that cut him pretty harshly last spring.

With 95 total tackles, Wagner is fourth in the NFL among players who have already had a bye week and have only played nine games. Pro Football Focus has him ranked first against the run and fourth overall among linebackers this week. Wagner had the most tackles of any player in coverage without missing a tackle, 34, according to PFF, indicating that he has been very effective in pass coverage.

And if he records five more tackles, he would have completed 12 consecutive seasons with 100 tackles, tying Derrick Brooks for the second-longest streak in NFL history, only surpassed by London Fletcher’s 14 seasons. He will also tie Brooks for third place on the list of players with the most seasons with 100 tackles, trailing only Ray Lewis and Fletcher (who had 13 but not all in a row).

Wagner said on Wednesday that he had little to no knowledge of the approaching milestones.

Wagner remarked, “To be honest, I just tackle people.” “I’ll do my best to be my best self. Do all in my power to support this team.

There was some doubt as to how precisely he would accomplish that when he re-signed with the Seahawks in March.

At the time, general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll hinted that Wagner could have to play a smaller role going forward, perhaps not starting every play as the defensive play caller and middle linebacker, as he had done for Seattle from 2012 to 21.

This week, Carroll admitted, “I didn’t know.” “I had doubts about how that would turn out. I reasoned that he would only view it that way—that is, as being on the field every down. But all we had to do was observe.

What they observed was that Wagner, who is the second-oldest position player on the team, was still able to perform in his typical capacity.

With the exception of leaving the game during garbage time in the Giants’ blowout victory and the Ravens’ blowout loss, Wagner has played every snap this season.

Wagner has played in 617 snaps, more than any other defensive player in Seattle (just over 97% overall). According to fantasypros.com, his 68.6 snaps per game rank 16th among all NFL defensive players and 10th among players who haven’t missed a game due to injury.

Carroll remarked, “We’re past halfway and he’s played almost every play so far.” “More strength to him. Two weeks ago, we were down [against Baltimore], and I was trying to get him out of the game, but he was resisting. He desires to remain outside. That is precisely what I would anticipate. And that’s not a problem for me. You just have to fight that war when it’s necessary.

Naturally, Carroll had the long term goal of preventing an injury to Wagner or any other starter when a loss was already certain.

Wagner, nevertheless, claimed that he was unable to resist fuming as he watched the Ravens drive the field in an attempt to score one more touchdown before deciding to kneel at the 4-yard line and settle for a 37-3 victory.

We weren’t very good, Wagner said. You simply want to go out there and finish the game since we were trailing by a significant margin. They’re getting closer to scoring again, so you just want to wrap up the game because it’s already a terrible loss. Make sure there wasn’t any further harm in addition to what was previously there.

Carroll’s long-term objective, of course, was to keep Wagner or any other starter from getting hurt when a loss was already certain.

But Wagner insisted that he could not help but lose his temper when he saw the Ravens drive the field in an effort to score one more touchdown, ultimately opting to kneel at the 4-yard line and accept a 37-3 victory.

When he signed a one-year contract worth up to $5.5 million to return, he insisted that no promises were made, but in the end, he accepted it as he stated he would have if the Seahawks had given him a more supplementary position this season.

“I was simply allowing events unfold as they naturally would,” he remarked. “I felt like I just wanted to establish that I can play at a high level, and that’s all I could manage, because I was returning to a somewhat new circumstance. That being said, I wasn’t going to return and impose my will or anything. All I wanted was to return to being the best version of myself, and if that meant playing every snap, then that’s exactly what I wanted to do.

Not that displaying the same resilience hasn’t required certain aging-related modifications.

A month before reporting for his first Seahawks training camp in the summer of 2012, Wagner had turned 22. “When I was a rookie, I felt like I could eat whatever I want,” Wagner said. “It wouldn’t affect me the next day if I ate pizza, junk food, sweets, and all that other stuff. I couldn’t really consume those same things now that I was older. Thus, as my work progressed, the importance of paying more attention to details about things like diet, water intake, stretching, and other related matters increased. I believe that’s what has benefited me.

Naturally, this raises the important question of how long Wagner will continue to do this.

He must first get a team that will support him beyond this season.

Next spring, Wagner will once more be a free agent.

His return was seen when he signed that contract as a kind of insurance against Jordyn Brooks, who filled in for Wagner at middle linebacker the previous season and was seen by the team the long-term solution there, even though he could have to miss a few games due to his ACL injury.

Rather, Brooks made a comeback for Week 1 and reunited with Wagner inside, where he is once again a comfortable weakside linebacker.

At the end of the season, Brooks may become a free agency, giving Seattle alternatives and decisions. If both return, the LB corps will remain unchanged in 2024. Or declare Brooks to be the middle-class future once more? or an alternative?

On Wednesday, Wagner restated his desire to continue playing while reminding the public that he and teammate Jason Peters were asked last week if they would still be playing when they were 41 years old, and that they would not be.

That means, another one to seven years?

Wagner remarked, “I think anything is possible.” Simply said, it’s more of a want-to thing. merely going year by year. My body feels wonderful. It goes without saying that a lot of work goes into each season. I am aware that teams have goals and the like. I’m just being present here, not really searching too far.