Linebacker Bobby Wagner is one of several Seattle Seahawks icons currently still swimming around in free agency. The list also includes Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett. Unlike the last two players, though, Wagner is still playing at a high enough level to get a job as a starter somewhere.
If Sports Illustrated's Russell Baxter's suggestion proves correct, Wagner will follow the end of Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly's career and go out as a member of the Carolina Panthers. The sad difference is that Kuechly, who made it into Canton in 2025, played the length of his time in the NFL with only Carolina.
Wagner is one of the best Seahawks defenders in franchise history, but he has had to leave the team twice, and he won't be returning. He was a cap casualty in the 2022 offseason and signed with the Los Angeles Rams. He returned to Seattle for one year, but has played the last two seasons for the Washington Commanders.
Seattle Seahawks legend Bobby Wagner linked to the Carolina Panthers
The linebacker has nothing left to prove, of course. He is a future Hall of Famer himself, and from 2014 through 2024, he was named either First- or Second-Team All-Pro. He also won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in the 2013 season.
He hasn't said he was going to retire so far, though, so the implication is that he wants to keep playing. While he didn't make an All-Pro team in 2025, he is still an elite tackler and fantastic against the run. He can help some team, and the Panthers make sense. Plus, Carolina is capable of making the playoffs again in 2026, and going out that way would be fitting for Wagner.
What is clear is that he has no roster spot on the Seattle Seahawks. Head coach Mike Macdonald wants his inside linebackers to be able to be good in pass coverage, and that has never been Wagner's forte. There is little doubt that Bobby Wagner, as great a human being as he is, would be a good leader in the locker room, but Seattle doesn't need that.
The team already has solid leadership on the roster with veterans Cooper Kupp, Leonard Williams, Ernest Jones, and others. The culture for the Seahawks is excellent right now.
Ideally, Wagner would officially end his career by signing a one-day deal and retiring with the Seahawks, but he should obviously play as long as he wants to. That might be with the Carolina Panthers.