The Seattle Seahawks have some offseason decisions to make. One could be to release Bobby Wagner who is owed $20.350 million in 2022. If Seattle does, who would replace him?
It isn’t like replacing Wagner would be easy. He is a future Hall of Fame player and one of the best linebackers to ever play. He is certainly the best linebacker the Seahawks have ever had and one of the best overall players the franchise has had.
But Wagner will be 32 years old when 2022 begins and has played nearly every down over his 10 seasons. That is a lot of punishment to take and, of course, since this is Wagner, a lot of punishment to dish out as well. $20.350 million is a lot to pay any player. Wagner will have the largest cap hit of any linebacker in the league next year.
3 potential replacements for Bobby Wagner if the Seattle Seahawks let him go
Currently, Seattle has quite a bit of cap space to work with this offseason – 8th most in the NFL. Releasing Bobby Wagner is not a necessity to create more cap room. But Seattle simply has a lot of needs entering 2022, including finding another pass rusher or two, possibly a very good cornerback, maybe a left and right tackle. Re-working Wagner’s deal allows Seattle more room to bring in high-end talent.
If Wagner is outright released, Seattle would save about $16 million. That kind of money could go towards two other very good players at greater positions of need. Or towards a very good offensive lineman. So who would replace Bobby Wagner?
De’Vondre Campbell
Signing De’Vondre Campbell would likely mean Jordyn Brooks sliding over to Bobby Wagner’s middle linebacker position and this would be excellent. No offense to Wagner who is still a very good player while a bit less impactful on splash plays than he used to be, but Brooks is Benny Blanco to Wagner’s Carlito Brigante. Both are great but Wagner is aging and Brooks is the new Wagner.
Campbell will be just 29 years old and could play for another three years at a high level. He isn’t likely to get a lot of sacks or quarterback hits but Brooks’ position in 2021 didn’t really require this either. Campbell can fill Brooks’ position and make the overall defense faster.
This means Brooks can create even further chaos than he hinted he was capable of this past season. Brooks led Seattle in tackles for loss and had 3 quarterback hits but from his weakside linebacker spot getting to the quarterback was more difficult.
The signing of Campbell (who was in on 146 tackles in 2021) allows Seattle to still tackle well but also be better in coverage. Pro Football Focus gave Campbell a grade of 83.1 (second in the NFL among linebackers) in pass coverage too so adding him means better pass coverage in 2022 as well. And Campbell might only require a contract in the $6-7 million a year range which would be a big savings over Wagner.
Leighton Vander Esch
It feels like Vander Esch has been in the NFL for 10 years but he will only be entering his fifth in 2022 and he will still be just 26 years old. He probably hasn’t performed as well as the Cowboys hoped he would when they took him in the first round in 2018 but he hasn’t been a bust either.
Vander Esch has had some injury issues in his first four years but in his rookie season of 2018 and in 2021 he played every game. He might have played the best football of his career in the last four games of this year as well, so maybe Vander Esch is ready to become the very good player many thought he would be.
It also says something that his playing time increased late in the season too and as it did the better he was. He had 10 tackles in Week 17 and an interception in Week 18. In Dallas’ playoff game against the 49ers, Vander Esch was in on 13 tackles.
Vander Esch is also an off-ball linebacker that while 6’4″ and 260 pounds can still run with speed. Signing him should move Jordyn Brooks to Wagner’s position. Plus, signing Vander Esch wouldn’t break the bank as he likely would sign for $8 million a season or less.
Josey Jewell
Seattle adding Josey Jewell simply makes too much sense. Jewell has played for four years in the NFL and his time on defense has been under the coaching of Ed Donatell. Donatell has helped Jewell develop into a terrific coverage linebacker. Jewell isn’t the most athletic player but he is smart and knows where to be on each play.
Donatell, of course, will be joining the Seahawks as a senior defensive assistant and the assumption is he will be the pass game coordinator. Wherever Donatell has been over his long coaching career, his defenses have produced at a high level against the pass. One issue Seattle has had against the pass recently, especially in 2021, was poor coaching of how far back the linebackers should play in coverage.
Donatell will fix this and bringing in Jewell only speeds up the resolution of the problem. Jewell could instantly plugin next to Brooks, allowing Brooks to slide into Wagner’s vacated spot, and help the Seahawks be more creative in how to use Brooks while also making the overall defense better.
Jewell did miss most of 2021 with a torn pectoral muscle but before this season he had only missed one game in three years. Jewell also doesn’t miss on tackles having missed just 3.4 percent of his attempts in 2020. Jewell, like the others on this list, shouldn’t be overly expensive either. He might sign a one-year deal for around $6 million.