The iconic linebacker from Seattle is getting close to another significant career milestone

Bobby Wagner on cusp of recording 100 tackles in 12 consecutive seasons

Bobby Wagner has received so many honors at this stage of his career that his résumé is completely polished.

The linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks has an abundance of statistics to support his status as one of the best defensive players in this generation.

But when the Seahawks play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday—the only other team Wagner has ever played for—he could achieve yet another career high. To become just the third player in league history to record at least 100 tackles in 12 straight seasons, Wagner needs five more tackles.

Derrick Brooks and London Fletcher were the others.

Wagner mentioned on Wednesday that he had a conversation with Fletcher, who is currently a member of the Washington broadcast team, prior to last week’s game between the Seahawks and Commanders. Wagner was on the verge of joining Fletcher in exclusive company, but he was unaware of it at the time.

Given my respect for him, I thought it was pretty cool to be able to have a conversation with him in that manner, Wagner said. “Every time you leave the game, you just want to be seen that same way.”

Wagner is 33 years old and in his 12th season, but he doesn’t appear to have lost any ground. He returned to the Seahawks lineup with ease after spending a year with the Rams, and he may have played more than anyone anticipated.

Wagner has played every snap in seven of Seattle’s nine games this season. Wagner had a break in Weeks 4 and 9, as both games were blowouts against the New York Giants and Baltimore.

Not that he was pleased with it, at least not in this most recent case.

In response to the 37-3 loss to Baltimore two weeks ago, Wagner stated, “I wasn’t, just because we didn’t play well.” “You just want to go out there and finish the game because we were losing by a big margin. It’s a terrible loss already. All you want to do is complete it.

Upon signing a one-year contract to rejoin the Seahawks, Wagner’s playing time was uncertain. After Jordyn Brooks suffered a serious knee injury late in the previous season, all Seattle knew was that something was needed.

After Wagner took a year off, Brooks was back in time for the start of the regular season, and the two resumed playing positions akin to what they had in 2020 and 2021.

In reference to Wagner’s snap counts, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said, “I didn’t know, I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out.” “We just needed to see, but I figured that was the only way he would look at it. As we’ve already completed more than half of the plays, he deserves more credit.

Wagner only played one season with the Rams, so his return to Los Angeles this week doesn’t feel all that different from any of his previous trips with the Seahawks. What worries him more is that Seattle has improved significantly since their season-opening matchup, in which the Seahawks were crushed 30–13.

“I believe it’s a chance for us to just keep getting better and keep getting better in the areas where we need to get better, especially defensively,” Wagner stated. We’re not that team, and we’ll prove it. There are many things we still need to work on, and that game was so far away.