NFL Free Agency Primer: Bobby Wagner

The regular season has come to a close, and most teams have already begun the complicated process of preparing for the 2023 season. In the coming months, we'll be covering the impending free agents most capable of shifting the balance of power in the NFL.

The Player: Bobby Wagner

Former Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is one of the few slam-dunk, first-ballot Hall of Famers still playing in the NFL, and his 2022 season showed he still has plenty left in the tank. Wagner was a first-team Pro Football Focus All-Pro and second-team Associated Press All-Pro last year and is still only 32 years old. He has eight Pro Bowls and six first-team All-Pros to his credit, and he may still have more to come.

The Fit:

Wagner is a do-it-all inside linebacker who is capable in coverage and a punishing tackler in the run game. He has been a universally respected leader and captain on some of the greatest defenses of all time and is a Super Bowl champion. He's in the closing stretch of his career and clearly belongs on a team that can provide him with an opportunity to pad his already substantial resume. Only contenders are worth his time at this point.

The Cost:

Wagner was recently released from a five-year, $50 million contract with the Rams. If he wasn't worth that sort of money to them, he likely wouldn't top those numbers in free agency. Teams ought to be willing to give him similar money on a shorter term, but he may have to settle for something closer to Demario Davis's three-year, $28 million pact with the New Orleans Saints. 

Photo Credit: © Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports