Should the Washington Commanders make a play for LB Bobby Wagner?
Examining if recent free agent Bobby Wagner would fit in Washington
Typically when a big name player in his early 30s gets cut by his team and becomes a free agent, fans clamor for their team to sign him but it's rarely the right move for the team. However, news broke last night that the Seattle Seahawks are planning to release linebacker Bobby Wagner. The Washington Commanders desperately need help at linebacker, specifically at the Mike spot, which Wagner played in Seattle. With two young but talented linebackers on the roster in Cole Holcomb and Jamin Davis, it’s expected the Commanders would like to add a veteran to play in between them and make all the calls to help free them up.
On paper then, this is one of the rare occasions where the fans clamoring for a big name could actually be on to something. Wagner has been one of the best Mike linebackers of his generation and Washington needs a veteran leader at the heart of its defense. So the question then shifts to does Wagner have much left in the tank? He’ll be 32 in July and a franchise legend in Seattle, which would have been tough to move on from. So how did he play last season and can he still play at a high level? Let's take a closer look.
In the run game, Wagner still shows his terrific football intelligence and natural instincts to find the ball.
On this play, the 49ers use a power run scheme but with the added run threat of Trey Lance at quarterback. The power scheme is relatively standard, with the tight end and left tackle working a double team on the defensive end, forcing him inside before the tight end peels off to block Wagner. Meanwhile, the right guard pulls to the left side and helps kick out defenders on the edge to create a running lane for the back. Wagner diagnoses the play quickly, keying on the pulling guard to know not only to work to the left side of the offensive line, but to be aware of the tight end attempting to block him off the double team. Wagner works over to the play side of the run, avoiding the tight end as he does so and positions himself in the open lane. He then breaks down and makes a solid tackle on the back in the hole to keep the gain to a minimum.
At this point in his career, Wagner has seen just about everything an offense can throw at him. He can identify runs from small keys and quickly know exactly where the ball is going.
Here, the Rams look to run a zone play to the left, but with some twists. Receiver Van Jefferson runs a jet sweep fake from right to left, while fellow receiver Cooper Kupp acts almost like a tight end, aligning tight to the formation and sifting back across the line to block a defender on the back side of the run. Wagner takes an initial step to his right to account for the jet sweep, but as soon as the ball is snapped, he keys Kupp and spots him beginning to sift. Wagner immediately knows that the run is almost certainly going to get cut back towards where Kupp is going, so he adjusts his position to place himself in the path of the cut back. Sure enough, the running back does cut his run back behind Kupp and Wagner is there to make the play.
His football IQ is a huge asset, but his physicality is just as important. Wagner may be 31 now, but he still packs a punch when he tackles, as Washington will know all too well from their game against Seattle this past season.
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