Bobby Wagner Contract Speculation

Surprised there isn't a thread on this, at least I coildnt find one.

The rumour mill is he's looking at $9.5-10 million a year on a four year deal, that's a lot of money and will put him in the top 3 highest paid inside linebackers.

Is he worth it and what it will do to our cap? I wouldn't ignore anyone's argument to say it isn't but when you look how our D played without Bobby at the start of last season and how we played with him, there was a notable difference.

Opinions?

original poster":2m3zs70e said:

Surprised there isn't a thread on this, at least I coildnt find one.

The rumour mill is he's looking at $9.5-10 million a year on a four year deal, that's a lot of money and will put him in the top 3 highest paid inside linebackers.

Is he worth it and what it will do to our cap? I wouldn't ignore anyone's argument to say it isn't but when you look how our D played without Bobby at the start of last season and how we played with him, there was a notable difference.

Opinions?

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It has been brought up here and there, but It's likely not received it's own thread, because most (I believe) are focused in on Wilson and assume the front office is as well.

I absolutely love BWagz on our defense. I also appreciate how John is able to use the cap rules to our favor with our draft picks and get them extended and use that last base year of their deals to lessen the cap hit. I know John has a plan in place, and likely wants to get Wilson locked up then see what the cap looks like and then lock up Wagner. Of course I'm sure he's already touched base with Wagner's agent, but IMO we won't see anything done until shortly after Wilson so they can write the contracts so they are both happy and fit under the cap well for today and the future.

With the retirements of Willis and Borland, Wagner's price has definitely gone up.

If something were to happen to Bowman too, even better for Bobby.

If memory serves me Bobby was out during the KC game. Brock Coyle was injured and KJ was at the Mike. This was not a pretty sight . My point is BWags is worth a lot to this defence. Keep KJ at the Will,please.

Didn't the winning streak start with his return?

I'm a huge Bobby Wagner fan, I was sorely disappointed he couldn't steel back the tackle lead over KJ, he would have been the 4th Seahawk to lead the team in tackles 3-straight years. Instead he ended up @ #2.

His biggest drawback is that he's missed time in each of his 3 years, so I would think that would affect his value a little. I hope they can nab him for 7-8.5 million a year instead of 9-10 being thrown around.

I think he's a critical piece, I also think Irvin is a critical piece and will be resigned next year.

I think he's one of the best, but it seems kind of crazy to tie up that much money in 4-3 linebackers, especially for a team with an expensive secondary and a desire to sign vets on D-line.

Huge deals for Wagner, KJ AND Irvin? I dunno -- I think something has to give.

original poster":1wa1wcbm said:

Surprised there isn't a thread on this, at least I coildnt find one.

The rumour mill is he's looking at $9.5-10 million a year on a four year deal, that's a lot of money and will put him in the top 3 highest paid inside linebackers.

Is he worth it and what it will do to our cap? I wouldn't ignore anyone's argument to say it isn't but when you look how our D played without Bobby at the start of last season and how we played with him, there was a notable difference.

Opinions?

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There sure was a big drop-off when Wagner was hurt so for this team, Wagner is extremely valuable. He's the QB of the defense. He's arguably a top 5 MLB in the league.

We are in our window. Keep him for four if you can. Too valuable to lose.

DavidSeven":37xmdji7 said:

Huge deals for Wagner, KJ AND Irvin? I dunno -- I think something has to give.

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Some of these guys are going to get the Red Bryant treatment in a couple years.

I think part of the reason Seattle overpaid big for Wright and is about to slightly overpay for Wagner is that we don't really have a good 4th LB right now. Pierre-Lewis still has a lot to prove, not just in terms of ability but in terms of health. Malcolm Smith departed in free agency. The rest of the LB group are roster-fringe.

I agree with you that locking up huge money in LBs is less than optimal... that said, if Seattle had let any of them go, it would have punched a hole in their defense.

I'm looking for Seattle to add another fast LB this year in the rounds 3-5 range. They need to get that 4th and 5th LB spot to play at a starter level before any of KJ/Wagner/Irvin can be made expendable.

Regarding the OP: Seattle consistently offers generous contracts to their in house players. Sherman got paid a little more than people thought, so did Earl, so did Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, and so on. Now Wilson's about to get paid on the high end, and so will Wagner.

My guess is that Wagner will get a 4/38 extension, and with that money shifted over his last cheap year it will feel like $7 million a year.

I'm in the boat of hoping we can sign Wagner for around $8M/yr, but if it takes $10M to get it done, so be it. Didn't Maxwell just sign for around the same? The two aren't even in the same conversation in regards to impact on the defense.

Wagner is one of the few players this team can truly build upon. He's young, elite, and still getting better. If the team signed Bennett, Avril, and Wright to long term deals, you can bet your sweet ass Wagner will be locked up as well.

I can't see us spending $25 mill per year on LB's.

Pay Wagner his 9-10 mill per and if Irvin won't take 7 Mil per we have to let him walk or cut KJ.

I was likely Wagner's biggest fan in the draft. I would have taken him in the first and ahead of Luke Keuchly in a heartbeat. That said, Wagner is the single best MLB in the league. He's without weakness. The only other ILB/MLB in the league who is also without weakness is Bowman and he didn't get a chance to play last year and may not ever be the same. What does that mean for his contract? I think Bobby knows how good he is. A lot of the reports of the contract are fair, but I'm hoping he'll go for an 8-9 vs 9-10. We have to work something out here. It's a must. Our winning streak wasn't solely Wagner's return, but it was the biggest weight that tipped that scale.

Wenhawk":8zri25ed said:

I can't see us spending $25 mill per year on LB's.

Pay Wagner his 9-10 mill per and if Irvin won't take 7 Mil per we have to let him walk or cut KJ.

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We get the least ROI from KJ at this point and that's pretty clear. He's a good, solid, smart player who plays multiple positions, but he lacks explosion and isn't a playmaker and yet is paid like a playmaking LB. He'll need to step up his game next year bigtime. Irvin, over the last half of the season, however; played like an all pro very similar to a Von Miller making both huge INTs and sacks at a really productive rate per snap.

Regarding KJ, It looks to me like his contract is fine at this point. Allen has plenty of money, so the only number that really matters is cap hit. KJ's hits are as follows: 2015- $4.75 mil; 2016- $6.25 mil; 2017- $6.8 mil; 2018- $8.2 mil. Considering the drastic increases in the cap recently, and the likelihood that those increases will keep coming in both the cap and future salaries, KJ's cap hits for 2017 and 2018 are really not that bad, and as I'm pretty sure those years aren't guaranteed, if things go south, they can always cut him.

I don't even see that there is any debate regarding Bobby...it's simple, PAY THE MAN!!!

Wagner is a play making difference maker at LB. You pay his premium.

Irvin could well play his way into that stratosphere. But ultimately, his age will be against him. He came into the league a 26 year old rookie in 2012. He'll be 30 after this year I believe.

Additionally, LB talent is generally very underdrafted at this point. Replacing Irvin may not necessarily be difficult in 2015 or 2016. If he continues his ascension and becomes an even better impact player -- then you're probably keeping him. He's really on the cusp of being in the same class as Wagner. And those talents aren't easily replaceable.

Outside of Wright, Seattle has really targeted the special players pretty well. Wright's signing surprised me somewhat, but the precedent it set may have been somewhat worth the short term cap pain. Seattle values a good locker room, and having an organization that takes care of their own is one of the better ways to establish that.

Bruce Irvin is 27 And has been in the league since 2012. Somehow he has aged only 1 year in 3 NFL seasons. That is the kind of unique trait the Seahawks will pay a premium for.

McGruff":3qcltmq1 said:

Bruce Irvin is 27 And has been in the league since 2012. Somehow he has aged only 1 year in 3 NFL seasons. That is the kind of unique trait the Seahawks will pay a premium for.

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Hahaha, indeed. I misremembered his age apparently.

Pay the man!