Seattle Seahawks Release Longtime Defensive Captain Bobby Wagner, Source Says

SEATTLE – A Franchise Changing Day for Seattle Seahawks Football Team continues on Tuesday night with the All-Pro supporter announcement team Bobby Wagner that he will be released, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The news comes hours after Schefter’s report that the Seahawks have agreed to a quarterback trade Russell Wilson arrive Dancer broncos. Two franchise platforms drafted on the same day in 2012 are now leaving Seattle on the same date 10 years later.

With the release of Wagner, the Seahawks will transition from their longtime defensive captain and another player to the most influential player in franchise history.

The move would save the Seahawks $16.6 million in cash and salary cap space while leaving a huge hole in the middle of their defence. And it’s no surprise that Wagner’s contract, age (he’ll be 32 in June) and off-kilter remarks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider made at NFL scouting this week. prior to.

Wagner himself wondered about his future as the Seahawks were going through a disappointing 7-10 season that resulted in some changes to Carroll’s coaching staff. Among them was the firing of defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., Wagner’s former position coach and one of his strongest supporters in the organization.

It’s unclear if a return to Seattle with a less expensive deal will be done.

Currently, only the defensive end Benson Mayowa — who left Seattle and returns in 2020 — remains on the 2013 Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII. Wagner, selected alongside Wilson on day two of the 2012 draft, was the last remaining member of the all-star defense that led Seattle to its only world championship and a return to Super Bowl XLIX after the season. 2014 tournament.

Wagner will become a free agent for the first time in his career. That comes with an interesting twist, as he continues to serve as his own agent, which he did when he negotiated a three-year, $54 million extension at summer 2019. Megadeal set a record for full-backs at $18 million per season and is perhaps the best success story about a senior NFL player handling his own contract negotiations. me.

Two and a half years later, that contract got him released.

Wagner, the Seahawks’ all-time lead, is entering the final year of his deal with an unsecured $16.35 million base salary and another $250,000 available in per-game bonuses. His $20.35 million cap fee is an unwieldy number even with the Seahawks in OK cap form – and even as Wagner is about to have a season of 170 tackles that have earned him the eighth Pro Bowl nod in 10 seasons.

Wagner posted that personal best despite missing all but one snap in the last two games with a knee sprain; Carroll said it would not require surgery.

When asked about Wagner last week in Indianapolis, Carroll gave a contradictory answer that ultimately reinforced uncertainty about whether he would return in 2022.

“We look forward to playing with Bobby,” Carroll said. “We love playing with Bobby. He’s a great player, has had another great season. At this time of year, there are so many boys in a position that we have to figure out where everyone is. Bobby’s been a steady part of it and we’d love to be able to play with him, so we’re going to work towards that. We’ll make it.”

Wagner’s release leaves $3.75 million in dead money.

The most logical insider candidate to replace Wagner is Cody Barton, a 2019 third-round player who made five starts in three seasons. Barton started Week 18 after Wagner hurt his knee in the opening game the previous week when his foot slipped while trying to place it on wet grass at Lumen Fiend.

Before the injury, Wagner hadn’t missed a shot in 2021. His 170 tackles in Week 17 led the NFL and broke his own single-season franchise record. since 2016. Teammates Jordyn Brooks (184) broke the record in Week 18 with Wagner on the sidelines.

While Wagner hasn’t produced as many impactful games as he did in some of his best seasons, he has scored one interception, one tackle, one forced scuffle and five saved passes. reign in 2021 en route to the second All-Pro team of choice.

In 2020, Wagner was one of 22 defenders inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s. His Hall of Fame-deserving resume also includes six All-time picks. The -Pro for the first team, two All-Pro picks for the second team and eight Pro Bowls nods, placed second in franchise history.

By team statistics, Wagner’s 1,381 career tackles top the franchise’s all-time list of nearly 400. He leads the NFL in tackles more than 150 times since the Seahawks knocked him out. second round outside of Utah State in 2012.

In late December, Wagner answered affirmatively when asked if he was wondering about his future in Seattle.

“You think about it,” he said. “You think what next year will look like and what the future will look like because this is a season that I don’t think we all planned for. We didn’t plan for the season to turn out that way. hey, so obviously there’s going to be some changes, and whether I’m part of those changes, I don’t know.”

During the same press conference, Wagner made it clear that he was not thinking about retirement. A week later, he struck a more hopeful tone about staying with the Seahawks.

“I understand there’s a business side to this, but I’m very optimistic I’ll be back,” Wagner said in early January. “So I’m not worried about it. Obviously, I can’t control everything. I can only control my part. And my part about this is that I feel like I love this city. I love this team. I love the Seahawks. So I’ve always wanted to be part of the franchise’s good times and bad times and every time. So this is a team that I really want. can become part of a very long time.

“So in the end of me, that’s where I’m at, that I’m a Seahawk until they tell me I’m not. So that’s my mindset. So I don’t take it as a.” My last game or this next game could be my next game.”

Wagner was asked what makes him optimistic that he will return.

“I’d say I’m a good businessman and I’d like to say I have a lot of respect here,” Wagner said. “So I’ll just go into my entrepreneurial mentality and get some work done.”