Wagner had his newest Seahawks extension terminated final offseason, which opened the door to him departing in free company. He elected to affix his hometown Rams on a five-year, $50M deal within the hopes of serving to the veteran-leaden group repeat as champions.
Nothing went based on plan in Los Angeles in 2022, nonetheless, and so they have now turned their consideration to clearing a lot of their burdensome contracts. That included granting Wagner’s request to be released at the beginning of the brand new league 12 months.
That transfer instantly led to hypothesis {that a} Seattle return could possibly be within the playing cards. Each GM John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll spoke with Wagner earlier this month to discuss a potential deal, although the Seahawks had numerous different strikes deliberate to enhance their protection.
That included the signing of former Steelers first-rounder Devin Bush on a prove-it deal, one which gave the group a starting-caliber possibility however under no circumstances precluded them from luring Wagner again. This deal for the latter marks one other notable defensive addition for Seattle.
The Seahawks have added defensive sort out Dre’Mont Jones and security Julian Love in free company, giving all three ranges of their protection an improve when mixed with this Wagner reunion.
The latter will as soon as once more be capable of group with 2020 first-rounder Jordyn Brooks, who has crammed the stat sheet over the previous two seasons after turning into a full-time starter on the LB place. Given Wagner’s manufacturing final season, a repeat of his peak performances might not be out of the query.
The 2010s All-Decade group member was one of some key gamers capable of stay wholesome for the Rams in 2022, and he proved to be a worthwhile member of the group’s protection. Wagner totaled 140 tackles, six sacks and a pair of interceptions in his lone Los Angeles marketing campaign.
On what needs to be a considerably improved Seahawks protection, he will probably be well-situated to put up one other extremely productive season in 2023.
A textual content from Wagner confirms that he’s “comfortable to be again” (Twitter link by way of Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport). His return ought to set the Seahawks up for a major step ahead when it comes to their run protection particularly, after they ranked thirtieth within the league in yards allowed on the bottom in 2022.
Presuming the unit improves, a repeat of their playoff look from final 12 months would come as little shock, one thing which might give Wagner the chance so as to add even additional to his legacy in Seattle.
