The Washington Commanders believe linebacker Bobby Wagner will bring the right balance of aggressive and intelligent on-field play and locker room leadership that will help them get this rebuild – though they don’t call it that – going in the right direction quickly.

In a day when 34-year old linebackers aren’t exactly having their phones ringing off the hook in free agency, Wagner is wanted by the Commanders, and is expected to bring the same value to this team as he has to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams before it.

Bottom line, Washington didn’t sign Wagner to be a motivator alone, it brought him in to help get wins. And as one of the best players in the NFL over 30, he’s looking to do the same.

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“Talk about never seeming to age—that’s Bobby Wagner who just led the NFL with 183 tackles in his 12th season. He’s had over 100 tackles in every season and was a key member of the vaunted Seattle defense that went to two Super Bowls,” wrote Jeff Diamond of 33rd Team, ranking Wagner the No. 12 player in the league over the age of 30. “After being drafted in the 2012 second round by Seattle, he played there 10 years, then spent one season with the Rams before returning to the Seahawks last season. His production has never wavered yet with their coaching change from Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks deemed Wagner expendable even after he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time and gained his tenth All-Pro honor (named to the Second-team in 2023). So he signed with Washington where he’ll surely continue to play at the level we’re accustomed to seeing from this future Hall of Famer. “

 In his 12 seasons before this one Wagner has made it to nine Pro Bowls and has been First-Team All-Pro six. He was forced to do the unthinkable at one point and leave the Seahawks, staying in division, and joining the Rams who play in his hometown area of Los Angeles, California.

That was 2022, and some thought he’d lost a step then. But he returned to Seattle in 2023 and put together another Pro Bowl campaign.

Now, he rejoins former Seahawks coaches Dan Quinn and Ken Norton Jr. and is once again looking to prove those who say he’s out of gas that they couldn’t be more wrong.

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Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

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