As roster cuts were made ahead of the 2026 NFL season, many Seattle Seahawks who helped the team to mostly relative success for much of a decade were not part of any team's difficult conversations about who to release and who to keep. One, Russell Wilson, had found gainful employment elsewhere. Bobby Wagner and Tyler Lockett had not.
The negative part is that neither Lockett nor Wagner had announced their decisions to retire, which implies both would keep playing football if given the opportunity. No team had offered such a scenario ahead of training camp, so Wagner and Lockett did whatever they might do if they didn't have to go work for a new team.
That seems somewhat cruel for two terrific players, both of whom played for other teams later in their respective careers but will always be Seahawks. Lockett isn't going to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but that doesn't matter. He was a great player and a better human being while with Seattle.
Former Seattle Seahawks' Tyler Lockett and Bobby Wagner left out of final roster cuts in 2026
Wagner should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and that vote will come five years after he no longer plays. Things are trending toward Wagner never playing again after the 2025 season, the last of two he spent with the Washington Commanders, which should make him Hall-eligible in 2030.
Lockett diminished in production much more rapidly than Wagner, not having a 1,00-yard receiving season since 2022, and catching fewer and fewer passes since that season, too. In 2025, with time split between the Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders (after the Seattle Seahawks had released him in the offseason), Lockett caught just 32 passes for 291 yards.
At nearly 34 years old, not many (or any, as it turns out) teams are going to take a chance on a wideout who only plays in the slot and has lost some quickness. Lockett deserved a better fate.
So does Wagner, who, although he is now 36 years old, was named Second-Team All-Pro as recently as 2024. Last year, he was involved in 162 tackles. He is still a terrific player, though not historically elite as he was when he last played for the Seahawks in 2023.
Ultimately, Tyler Lockett is probably done in the league. Bobby Wagner could be signed by a team that suffers an inside linebacker injury during the season. Both should have been able to call their own shots and retire.
The hope for many 12s is that Lockett and Wagner return to the Seahawks, only to sign one-day contracts and retire as members of the organization they will always be remembered for playing with.
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