Bobby Wagner

Hey guys.

What are everyone`s opinion of Bobby Wagner come free agency after the 2015 season. Will he be a top priority for the front office and if so will he be affordable with the contracts of Wilson, Thomas etc. Also how would you rate Wagner currently compared to the other top middle and inside linebackers eg Kuechly, Bowman?

Hopefully he gets an extension after this year. He's a Pete Carroll guy. He's undersized and benefits from playing behind Mebane, but 260 tackles in his first two seasons is hard to beat. He's one of the most efficient MLBs in the NFL today. However, I don't think he will command as much FA interest because he is undersized for the position and therefore likely to be hit with some injuries in the near future. The good news is we don't even have to think about this at least one more season.

Loved watch him and Artimus Gordon in The Wild, Wild West. Pappy Boyington in Black Sheep Squadron?

Seriously though, if we are to keep Sherm, Earl and Russ, keeping all of our Lbers will be next to impossible. I'd definitely make him the top priority among those guys.

I feel like we gotta find a way to keep B Wagz, some of the plays he makes are crazy good.

He's one of the key pieces of the spine of our defense, so it seems he should be viewed as a core player. You don't see too many MLBs getting top dollar in free agency either. I expect the FO will make a more sincere effort to keep him as compared to Tate, but he's a notch below some of the other guys.

BWagz has been very good ever since entering the league. He's one of the top MLB's IMO. He gets no love cause of Kuechly but he's just as good

-The Glove-":2xph43po said:

BWagz has been very good ever since entering the league. He's one of the top MLB's IMO. He gets no love cause of Kuechly but he's just as good

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I agree, Wagner is vastly underrated nationally. he could have been defensive rookie of the year. after some early struggles last year, I believe he was playing at a pro bowl level by seasons end.

jlwaters1":2tkq23r5 said:

-The Glove-":2tkq23r5 said:

BWagz has been very good ever since entering the league. He's one of the top MLB's IMO. He gets no love cause of Kuechly but he's just as good

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I agree, Wagner is vastly underrated nationally. he could have been defensive rookie of the year. after some early struggles last year, I believe he was playing at a pro bowl level by seasons end.

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yeah you could tell he was hampered by the injury at first but he stepped it up after that

HawKnPeppa":2sxy63bg said:

Loved watch him and Artimus Gordon in The Wild, Wild West. Pappy Boyington in Black Sheep Squadron?

Seriously though, if we are to keep Sherm, Earl and Russ, keeping all of our Lbers will be next to impossible. I'd definitely make him the top priority among those guys.

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You are confusing Robert Wagner and Robert Conrad.

Just as long as Doctor Lovelace does not destroy him as his archrival, He will be just fine.

If you look at our 2015 cap situation and work the calculator after figuring in RW, ET and Sherman's extensions, we have about $6m apy for ONE LB and 1 potential flex player you can use at any one position on defense.

My guess is that we'll retain Wagner on that contract and our flex player will be KJ Wright.

Typically on our defense you can only pay so many guys on second or FA contracts. The rest have to be comprised of rookie deals (4 years) for the most part via the draft.

The way PC/JS roll is typically you pay CB1, FS, SS, MLB, DE1, DE2, DT, DT. They obviously value the DL greatly and that would give you great strength up the middle which they covet.

In the end, I think we cover KJ over a second CB which would be my second choice. KJ is long and rangy, he is great in coverage and does very well against TE's which is a pretty big deal nowadays.

He isn't as good as Keuchly, but has more athleticism. The key for Wagner is to be more disciplined and play his assignments. Too often last season he didn't and it cost us (e.g. Gore's run to set up SF win). I love the guy and think he can improve.

You don't pay MLB's, unless you have a ridiculous amount of cap space and he is one of your best players. You find another rookie Bobby Wagner. Especially since we didn't lose a beat when he was out.

MysterMatt":2lpx3ykc said:

He isn't as good as Keuchly, but has more athleticism. The key for Wagner is to be more disciplined and play his assignments. Too often last season he didn't and it cost us (e.g. Gore's run to set up SF win). I love the guy and think he can improve.

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Gore's run was more a result of Kam and ET overrunning the play. Sherman to an extent also. KJ was also on that side of the formation where the play went but got washed out. Wagner was blocked well, wasn't undisciplined.

You might have to cut Bennett to sign him...

seahawk12thman":3e79j4l7 said:

You might have to cut Bennett to sign him...

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Bennett's deal was a 3 year but is likely just for 2 and they will cut him after 2015 as they usually do with these contracts when they're backloaded and guaranteed money has been paid.

There's plenty of cap for Wagner, and even KJ if we choose. Don't forget the cap went up 10m this year and is expected to go up at least 10m next year and more in 2016.

jblaze":vy14h7ae said:

seahawk12thman":vy14h7ae said:

You might have to cut Bennett to sign him...

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Bennett's deal was a 3 year but is likely just for 2 and they will cut him after 2015 as they usually do with these contracts when they're backloaded and guaranteed money has been paid.

There's plenty of cap for Wagner, and even KJ if we choose. Don't forget the cap went up 10m this year and is expected to go up at least 10m next year and more in 2016.

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My understanding was that it was a four year deal??

I think Wagz is pretty important. He's like a LB Earl Thomas in that his speed and athleticism allows him to cover a pretty big chunk of real estate, which in turn allows those around him to excel at a higher level than they otherwise would. I struggle with whether or not I consider him a "core player" and seem to change my mind on it weekly, but he's definitely not somebody who is easily replaced IMO. The defense didn't really start dominating until Bobby showed up on the scene, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

seahawk12thman":11nrr9cl said:

jblaze":11nrr9cl said:

seahawk12thman":11nrr9cl said:

You might have to cut Bennett to sign him...

Click to expand...

Bennett's deal was a 3 year but is likely just for 2 and they will cut him after 2015 as they usually do with these contracts when they're backloaded and guaranteed money has been paid.

There's plenty of cap for Wagner, and even KJ if we choose. Don't forget the cap went up 10m this year and is expected to go up at least 10m next year and more in 2016.

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My understanding was that it was a four year deal??

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My bad, you are correct. He'll play 3 years, his 4th year cost is too high.

I have a hard time imagining Seattle sinking a lot of money into the LB group. They might be to afford Wagz OR KJ, but certainly not both and possibly not either.

I love Bobby's game, but, to be frank, we don't ask a lot of our LBs. They play gap assignment vs. the run and stay in their zones in coverage. All we ask is that their either fast or long and meet the physical profile. This is one group where it might be prudent to cycle young guys in and out (assuming the stock of future 4.5/40 LBs is aplenty).