Hogs Haven
and a quick and unhappy end to the Eagles’ season
In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked Hogs Haven readers which soon-to-be veteran free agent should be the top-of-the list for a contract extension. The answer is both surprising and unsurprising.
The choice of Bobby Wagner by just over one-third of all respondents is surprising because, even back in 2021 when he first parted ways with the Seahawks and entered free agency, he perceived by many NFL fans as a once-great, expensive linebacker who was past his prime. What makes it surprising is that three years later, this 34-yr-old player is seen by the Washington fan base as a key element of the team that just won 12 regular season games and advanced to the NFC championship game.
But this excitement about Bobby Wagner is not some hypocritical enthusiasm that is a product of the team’s recent success. When it was announced back in March that Wagner had signed with the Commanders, Hogs Haven readers celebrated the announcement.
That’s why it’s unsurprising that, while some NFL fans would point to limitations of the 2024 version of Bobby Wagner in terms of coverage ability or straight line speed, Commanders fans, who entered the season quite excited about the future Hall of Fame linebacker joining the roster, and seeing him in the mold of another older but high-performing middle linebacker — London Fletcher — who came to Washington late in his career...we welcomed him as a sign of better days to come.
I think it’s fair to say that Bobby Wagner proved himself to be everything we could have reasonably hoped for.
On the field, he played 1,072 defensive snaps and 83 snaps on special teams, accounting for 132 regular season tackles and another 25 tackles in the playoffs. Wagner also earned pro bowl honors for the tenth time in his career.
But Wagner’s role as a leader both on and off the field may be seen as his biggest contribution to the re-calibrating Commanders. It was almost funny to hear player after player in the Spring talk about how awesome it was to be in the locker room and on the field with Bobby Wagner. His total buy in to the Dan Quinn program provided encouragement and tacit permission for others to do the same. He has been described by local media as being an approachable, friendly and surprisingly ‘normal’ guy who is openly welcoming to players, media members and fans. He quickly formed a special relationship with incoming rookie QB Jayden Daniels that many beat reporters describe as ‘big brother-little brother’ in its mix of light banter and meaningful dialogue.
Any Washington fan who integrates salary cap hits into the equation would have to feel as though Wagner was a massive bargain at $6.5m in 2024, on par with Josey Jewell, TJ Edwards, and Germaine Pratt, and only about one-third of the cap space devoted to Tremaine Edmunds.
Wagner was clearly a huge...
