Former Seattle Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner was one of the key defensive names in this year’s Free Agency pool. Wagner, who has no agent and represents himself, met with Rich Eisen earlier this week to discuss his freelance journey and eventual signing with the Los Angeles Rams.
Wagner signed a five-year, $50 million deal the rams after playing 10 NFL seasons in Seattle. The Rams were willing to hand Wagner the bag and smack several other franchises for his services. Wagner grew up in LA, so that was one thing going for the Rams, aside from just winning a Super Bowl. Dallas was one of them to purchase favourites Wagner. But of course it didn’t work out that way for Cowboys fans.
Wagner’s signing seemed like a no-brainer for Jerry Jones, especially with Dan Quinn filling the role of defense coordinator at Dallas. Quinn was Wagner’s coordinator in Seattle for his first three years in the NFL. So if anyone knew how to implement Wagner and make it work, it would be one of the architects of this Seahawks defense that won the Super Bowl.
“We had a many conversations, but they couldn’t, they didn’t really figure it out from a financial situation. But they also had other needs that they wanted to address first. And they responded to those needs.”
Jerry really lost the ball here. Sure, Wagner’s almost 32 years old, but this past season he’s recorded 93 solo tackles, his most since 2017. Wagner apparently still has a few good years left in football, and Jones passed that on because of the price was high. But Jones has no problem paying a situational return that’s past its prime [cough Ezekiel Elliot cough] over $12 million in 2022. Someone please make this meaningful.
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This missed opportunity reminds me of all the rumors from 2009 that Ray Lewis might be leaving Baltimore for Dallas this offseason. Ultimately, Lewis stayed with the Ravens, who won another Super Bowl a few years later. I’m not saying Wagner is Lewis, but when this kind of game changer is available you have to do whatever it takes to get the job done if there’s a mutual interest.
I have no doubt that Quinn could not have figured out a way to fit Wagner into the Cowboys’ defense. I know they improved a lot last year, but you can always get better. It’s not like they had a deep post-season run, they were rebounded in the wild-card round. But of course Jones didn’t want to figure out how to get Bobby below the salary cap. But Jones entered big money Extension to a wide receiver who probably won’t be ready for the start of the season due to a cruciate ligament injury late last season [cough Michael Gallup cough].
During his interview with Eisen, Wagner also commented on contacting general managers directly (via text message) and how some of them initially didn’t believe it was him. He mentioned how they had to verify that it was actually his cell phone number. It sounds kind of crazy, but that’s part of representing yourself.
While Wagner’s entry into the Cowboys would have been great, all hope is not lost as Dallas is likely to take a linebacker (in some cases). mock drafts
