ASHBURN, Va. — Bobby Wagner’s rookie hazing with the Seattle Seahawks was inevitable.
“I had a lot of characters in my huddle,” the former Seahawks linebacker said. “The first couple of weeks, they just made fun of everything they could make.”
Newbies are subjected to jocular torment from older or more veteran teammates, a time-honored tradition in professional sports. Perhaps extra digs went the 2012 second-round pick’s way. His middle linebacker duties included verbally relaying the play call to chatty defensive backs Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas.
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“(They) didn’t even know what I was saying,” Wagner said in 2020. “They just said I had no neck.”
Along with poking at his neckless appearance — “and biceps,” Wagner added at the Washington Commanders’ organized team activities last month — Seahawks general manager John Schneider remembers a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack creating endless fodder. Whether those chatty characters bothered listening, Wagner had a specific goal in that first campaign.
“Your rookie year, you don’t want your voice to crack,” Wagner said.
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Looking back at those initial steps in Wagner’s now-projected Hall of Fame career, what stands out most to Schneider is that the player he selected 47th overall out of Utah State was always a boss.
“I don’t remember him not being a leader,” the longtime executive said.
The middle linebacker position lends itself to taking control by verbally relaying every defensive play to teammates. Ken Norton Jr., Wagner’s position coach in Seattle and a Super Bowl-winning linebacker, frequently reminded his young apprentice about the leadership requirement. Conversations with linebacker legends Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary hammered home the point.
The Commanders signed the still-productive, yet aged Wagner — he turns 34 on June 27 — this offseason. Coming off a 4-13 season and seven years removed from its last campaign with a winning record, Washington kicked off a full-blown organizational reset. Among its decisions was signing the 10-time All-Pro to help establish a winning approach by sharing the lessons learned throughout his career.
“This is a rare competitor,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said.
They couldn’t catch @Bwagz 🤫
Bobby Wagner comes up with a clutch pick six against the 49ers for the #TurnoverThursday! pic.twitter.com/nOjroaMuaG
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 22, 2021
Quinn served as Seattle’s defensive coordinator for the 2013 Super Bowl champions under head coach Pete Carroll. He schemed for a unit put together by Schneider that included the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year the season before.
“Steady. Bobby wasn’t like a yeller, a screamer, but super confident,” Schneider said during a recent phone conversation with The Athletic. “Not outspoken. He was a pro like right away. He’s never changed his approach or attitude. He’s going to be the same person every day. Steady as s—.”
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Washington’s situation requires that element. The defense may open the season with eight new starters. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall selection in April’s NFL Draft, represents the long-term hope along with other members of the 2024 class. His willingness to work impressed Wagner. Still, rookies often endure significant ups and downs. Some talented holdovers remain, but talent alone won’t get the Commanders into the contender class.
Establishing the required work ethic and an intense spirit is why Washington signed veterans Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler for the offense and the savvy linebacker with a Super Bowl pedigree in free agency.
“It’s a huge (impact) he can make,” Quinn said of Wagner. “He’s as skilled a ballplayer as you’re going to find because of the details he puts into (his work).”
Last month, during Washington’s second week of organized team activities, Wagner explained how he cemented his leadership in Seattle by displaying “confidence. Then people feel like they know you’re in charge.”
Schneider’s stated example of Wagner’s belief wasn’t one of his nine Pro Bowl selections or imploring teammates for more after a 30-13 Week 1 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams last season — Seattle responded by winning its next three games. Instead, their interactions in contract negotiations. Wagner, a business entrepreneur who co-founded Fuse Venture Partners in 2020, is among the few players who handle their financial haggling without an agent.
“The confidence to represent himself in a room with two people (on the other side of the negotiation) takes a lot of self-efficacy,” Schneider said. “That just shows what kind of person that is.”
Today I had lunch with Bobby Wagner, a Super Bowl Champion and current Washington Commander linebacker. I was impressed by Bobby’s entrepreneurial mindset and provided him with tips on how to scale his business and building wealth! pic.twitter.com/SxoZzXMYKl
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 31, 2024
Seattle’s offseason strategy included re-signing the 2023 second-team All-Pro selection. Wagner, deemed by Quinn as the “very best tackler that I’ve had the chance to coach,” led the league in tackles (183) for a third time.
Linebackers “hung out for a while” in 2023 free agency, Schneider recalled, but went off the board earlier this cycle than the Seahawks’ front office anticipated. That Wagner maintained personal relationships with Quinn and Norton, hired as the Commanders’ linebackers coach this year, made a reunion appear plausible. Reports of Wagner’s one-year, $6.5 million contract with Washington surfaced on March 13. Having replaced Carroll as head coach with ex-Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Seattle pivoted to sign Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker.
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“It made sense because (Bobby) knows Dan’s system,” Schneider said, “and we’re starting a whole new system here. I think it’s really cool that Dan and Bobby are together. I respect both of those guys so much.”
Therefore, those leadership traits honed over a storied career brought the lifelong West Coaster to the nation’s capital. Wagner’s primary hiccup involved adjusting to late-night start times for NBA playoff games when morning practices warrant waking up by 6:45 a.m.
“Luckily, the Lakers are not playing,” the Los Angeles native cracked. “So, I’m cool, but I want to watch (Dallas Mavericks star) Kyrie (Irving) play.”
Wagner’s new teammates acknowledge the benefits and intrigue of being around the seasoned pro. Asked which teammates they were most excited to play with, the rookies cited Wagner above all. Defensive tackle Daron Payne said he studies Wagner’s “routine,” similar to how, in his 2018 rookie season, he tracked established edge rusher Ryan Kerrigan.
“Man, he just brings a winning presence, a winning culture, the way he works every day,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. “When you see a guy like that, in Year 13, first-ballot Hall of Famer, work as hard as he does, there’s really no excuse for anybody else.”
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No teammate will have more of a front-row seat to Wagner than linebacker Frankie Luvu, Washington’s highest-paid free-agent signing. The pair project as every-down linebackers, assuming Wagner’s defensive instincts make up for a decline in pass coverage.
“The dude is like a treasure box,” Luvu exclaimed. “You never know what you’re going to get with him. But he’s just real at the end of the day. He’s always there, trying to help the young guys, myself and the team.”
Players also grasp that the grizzled linebacker is watching them intently. Wagner called out right guard Sam Cosmi’s plan to pull out of a three-point stance before the snap.
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“I’m like, ‘What the heck? … I was trying to disguise that,'” said Cosmi. Wagner shared that Cosmi’s tell was leaning in his stance. “Those are things that I’m noticing and enjoying,” Cosmi said of having Wagner around in practice and the building.
Wagner sees paying it forward as a prominent part of his career arc.
“I think you just share your scars,” Wagner said. “You can learn from (others’) experience. People that can get at that knowledge and get that insight. Things that I did in my rookie year and my second and third years. Try to have you avoid some of those mistakes. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”
Perhaps this season is Wagner’s first and last in Washington. Maybe he heads full time into the business world, or the Commanders seek a younger player to quarterback the defense. But if his presence this year helps Quinn and the organization spread their winning message, Wagner’s impact will be felt in these parts for seasons to come.
(Photo: Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)
