NFL Trade Rumors
Five years after veteran LB Bobby Wagner chooses to retire, he will have an exceptional case to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. (I’d like to call him a lock, but the Hall has proven with Bill Belichick that no resume is above nitpicking).
But don’t look for Wagner to be in the 2031 class. Set to turn 36 at the end of June, Wagner declared his intentions to play a 15th season in 2026 a long time ago. He’s been an unrestricted free agent since March after the Commanders elected to let his deal expire, so it remains to be seen where Wagner’s NFL journey will take him next.
Washington can probably be ruled out despite two successful seasons. Wagner was a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro selection in 2024 during the Commanders’ magical run to the NFC title game. The results were more disappointing last year but he still racked up 162 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions. Still, the Commanders decided they needed to get younger and more athletic, adding Leo Chenal in free agency and Sonny Styles early in the draft to a room that still includes Frankie Luvu.
That underscores the reality for Wagner at this stage of his career. He remains a productive player who’s good enough to start in the NFL. His instincts are as sharp as ever and he’s been remarkably durable, playing 68 of 68 possible games since the Seahawks moved on from him the first time back after the 2021 season. But he’s not as rangy as he used to be and that can be exploited at times.
Even so, Wagner still has something to give for a contending-level team that finds itself in need at linebacker. Linebacker is a tough position to play in the modern NFL and it frequently takes young players time to find their feet. In Wagner’s case, there’s no substitute for the fourteen seasons of experience he has under his belt, and that’s the biggest reason he can still be a positive for a defense and not a liability. He may be a stopgap, but he’s a pretty solid one.
Wagner, 35, is a former second-round pick by the Seahawks out of Utah State in the 2012 NFL Draft. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $43 million deal and set to earn a base salary of $10.5 million in 2019 when he agreed to a new three-year, $54 million deal.
Wagner was entering the final year of that deal in 2022 and scheduled to make a base salary of $16.35 million when the Seahawks released him. He signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the Rams.
Los Angeles released Wagner after just one season and he returned to Seattle on a one-year contract. From there, he joined the Commanders in 2024 on another one-year contract and re-signed to another one-year pact in 2025.
In 2025, Wagner appeared in all 17 games for the Commanders and recorded 162 total tackles, eight...
