The Seattle Seahawks have pulled off a coup by bringing back franchise legend Bobby Wagner after a year with the Los Angeles Rams. In all ways, the deal is a win-win for both the franchise and the linebacker.

The Seattle Seahawks have pulled off a coup, bringing back linebacker Bobby Wagner after a year apart.

The longtime defensive star will receive a one-year, seven million dollar contract, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. “I am happy to be back,” Wagner reportedly wrote to Rapoport after the news broke.

The 32-year-old last played for the Los Angeles Rams. A year ago, Wagner signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the then defending Super Bowl champions, but it was recently rescinded after a disappointing season for the franchise and massive cap space issues.

The Seahawks also reacted meaningfully on Twitter: “Back where he belongs.”

For both sides, the deal is absolutely obvious and makes sense in many ways.

Back where he belongs.GoHawks x @Toyota pic.twitter.com/9P8VxduPSK

– Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) March 26, 2023

Bobby Wagner: Key player returns to Seattle Seahawks

Wagner and Seattle, it just fits.

No active player knows the defense and the mishmash around the Seahawks’ locker room as well as the eight-time Pro Bowler.

Several of Wagner’s former teammates also made a strong case for his return in the run-up to the game. K.J. Wright and Quandre Diggs, in particular, have been vocal on several occasions about the desirability of a second appearance with the Seahawks, and not just from an emotional standpoint, according to the Seattle Times.

Wright, who is considered one of Wagner’s closest friends, told “Sports Illustrated” recently: “When you’ve played for an organisation for a decade, it’s your second home. Your home is there. You know what your routine is going to be, you know everybody in the building. Everything goes well when you’re ‘home’.”

Wagner spent his first ten seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, who drafted him in the second round in 2012. As part of the famed “Legion of Boom,” Wagner contributed 1,383 total tackles, 78 quarterback hits, 68 tackles for loss and 11 interceptions while winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the franchise.

Still, the manner of his interim departure was anything but appropriate after all those years of success.

Seattle Seahawks: Bobby Wagner proves greatness and underpins role model

The way the Seahawks literally just ingloriously wrote off their star was an outrage to say the least and not worthy of the linebacker’s qualities.

“The crazy thing about the whole thing is that I played there for ten years and I wasn’t even told by them that I wouldn’t be returning,” Wagner rumbled on Twitter at the time.

Belated tension or wounded pride after Wagner did not get the fat retirement contract with his old love as hoped back then? Not a chance.

Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider seem to have completely forgiven the failure to communicate with a more than deserving player of the franchise.

They simply know what they have in each other and don’t look back with subliminal resentment – admittedly a rarity in today’s NFL.

Wagner’s time together with his “Hawks” has simply been too successful so far and continues to be the potential before working together again.

Bobby Wagner to take Seahawks defence to new level

The veteran is ideally suited to once again lead the defence, which was already much improved last season, and to actively support the younger players on the team in their development. Wagner’s qualities and leadership skills remain undisputed.

Even in his old football age, he had an outstanding season in almost every respect for the stumbling Los Angeles Rams in 2022. Wagner played in all 17 games as a starter, totaling 140 tackles, ten tackles for loss, ten quarterback hits and two interceptions.

It’s hard to imagine that Wagner, even considering the inevitable influence of advancing age, won’t play a valuable role for a team that has a glaring need at linebacker.

That’s because Wagner gives the Seahawks routine and planning security that is currently lacking at his position. But shaky or struggling players on the roster should also benefit from his comeback.

Seattle Seahawks respond to numerous question marks at linebacker position

While the Seahawks have already signed free agent Devin Bush, who can play both linebacker positions, middle and weakside. However, the former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick brings with him a big question mark and has struggled to bounce back from a serious ACL injury in 2020 after a brilliant start in the NFL.

Jordyn Brooks, who the Seahawks actually drafted in the first round to replace Wagner in the 2020 draft and envisioned as the leader of their linebacker corps of the future, also suffered a serious ACL injury in Week 17 against the New York Jets.

Allowing for a nine-month recovery period, Brooks is unlikely to return until after the season opener in September. Legitimate question marks behind his speed as a result of the injury again underline the need behind the Wagner signing.

And Jamal Adams is also likely to play much more as a weakside linebacker in 2023 to better showcase his skills. But Adams’ recovery from a quadriceps tear that kept him out of action for most of the season is also an unknown factor for planning on defense.

In addition to the athletic argument, the Wagner deal is actually a no-brainer financially, even though the franchise is said to be operating at its limit in terms of cap space. The one-year contract poses no real risk to Seattle. Should the seven-time Pro Bowler convince, the next contract will almost certainly be signed in 2024.

A win-win situation for both sides.