Rob Issa, FISM News
Bobby Wagner never wanted to leave Seattle. So, he returned to the Seahawks the first time he got the chance.
The six-time All-Pro linebacker turned down more money from other teams last month to come back to the Seahawks after one season with the Los Angeles Rams. Wagner spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since he signed a $5.5 million, one-year contract.
Before Wagner officially agreed to return to the Seahawks, he posted a simple message on Twitter that said: “God is amazing.”
Excited Seahawks fans interpreted it as a homecoming. They were right. Wagner wants to play more than one season but he also hopes to retire as a Seahawk.
“For me, I think that I never really wanted to leave in the first place,” Wagner said.
Obviously, business happened and I had an opportunity to go play in the city that I grew up in, so I thought that was cool. Then I wanted to come back to the city that I matured in. For me, it was cool to be able to make that happen with me being able to represent myself. I always thought it was cool when you had those agents out there that were able to kind of get the player what he wanted and so I wanted to be home, this was another home of mine, and I wanted to be back.
The 33-year-old Wagner joined the Rams after they won a Super Bowl, hoping to get another chance to get a ring. He played a key role in helping Seattle win one in his second season in 2013-14.
But the Rams struggled last year while the Seahawks thrived after Geno Smith replaced Russell Wilson at quarterback. Still, Wagner was a second-team All-Pro on a bad team. Now, Wagner is back in a familiar spot to fill a big void at middle linebacker. The Seahawks may not have starting middle linebacker Jordyn Brooks for much of the upcoming season because he sustained a torn ACL late in 2022.
“We are going to figure all of that out, but to me, as an older guy, it’s always your job to uplift the ones around you whatever that looks like,” Wagner said about calling the defensive plays.
It’s never really the same, so when I left, I had no intentions of coming back. This was just something that happened, so as we figured everything out, I think it can be a collaborative thing. I don’t think it’s just a one-person thing. I think it was that way because I had been a part of the team for so long and I was the oldest, so it just made sense. Coming back, I think it can be a collective effort and I just want to be the best version of myself.
Wagner represents himself without an agent negotiating his contract. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson also doesn’t have an agent and his decision to represent himself hasn’t worked out. He still hasn’t signed a long-term contract and received a franchise tag from the Ravens.
Wagner has sound advice for players who want to handle contract talks themselves.
“I think it was just mastering your emotions because I think that’s one of the reasons why people feel like players can’t negotiate deals by themselves, because of the emotional aspect,” he said.
They feel like that as soon as you get told something that you don’t want to hear or as soon as you get an offer that you feel is disrespectful then the emotion that we play with and the emotions that we build our game on comes out in that room and it can be the wrong thing. To me, I feel like I have been able to be really good at separating on the field versus being in the business world. I think it’s just getting better at that, I think that’s probably the biggest thing, just getting better at that and still understanding the market.