The Seattle Seahawks will have a completely new look next season, as the team Tuesday parted ways with two franchise icons on both sides of the ball: Hours after agreeing to trade quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos (for a large haul), the team released All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Things certainly do come full circle: The two stalwarts were drafted on the same day in 2012 and now depart Seattle on the same day a decade later.
The 33-year-old Wilson was traded for three players and four draft picks.
The Wagner move will save the Seahawks $16.6 million in salary cap space but cost them on defense as well as $3.75 million in dead money. His contract and soon-to-be-32-year-old body ostensibly played a factor in the decision.
The moves shouldn’t be a total shock. Following a 7-10 campaign, coach Pete Carroll made changes to his staff and was non-committal about Wagner last week at the NFL Draft combine in Indianapolis.
“We expect to play with Bobby,” Carroll said. “We love playing with Bobby. He’s been a great player, had another great season. At this time of the year, there’s a lot of guys that are in a position where we’ve got to figure out where everybody fits together. Bobby’s been such a steady part of it and we’d love to be able to play with him, so we’ll work towards that. If we can do that, we’ll do it.”
A return to Seattle on a cheaper contract could still be in play, though it hasn’t yet been touched upon. He’s set to become a free agent for the first time in his career.
Only defensive end Benson Mayowa—who left Seattle for six seasons only to return in 2020—remains from the 2013 Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII.
The Seahawks’ all-time tackles leader is coming off a season in which he registered 170 tackles and his eighth Pro Bowl berth in 10 seasons. He did all that despite missing all but one snap of the final two games with a knee sprain, which doesn’t require surgery.
“You think about it,” he said about his future in Seattle. “You think about what the next year looks like and what the future holds because this was a season that I don’t think we all planned for. We didn’t plan for the season to go this way, so obviously there’s going to be some changes and whether or not I’m part of those changes, I don’t know.”
