Seahawks will trade Russell Wilson for linebacker Bobby Wagner, 31, and then release him.
Seattle Bobby Wagner, a linebacker for the Seahawks, has been informed that Seattle is releasing him.
Just hours after the team decided to trade quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver, Wagner confirmed the news to the Associated Press on Tuesday night. Wagner’s official release is anticipated to take place in Seattle on Wednesday.
Wagner’s departure is not shocking, but it is yet another indication of the significant reconstruction that Seattle is about to undergo.
Since the trade, Leonard Williams has had the least impact on the Seahawks’ problems.
Leonard Williams, a defensive end, was acquired by the Seattle Seahawks from the New York Giants at great cost. They sent their second-round draft pick in 2024 and their fifth-round pick in 2025 as part of the deal.
But Williams is a unique player. It’s debatable if Seattle should have forfeited too much draft capital to acquire him, but it would be a mistake to let him go now that they have him. Despite being close to thirty years old, Williams has emerged as the team’s best defender and most reliable player overall since the trade.
Williams has amassed 18 total tackles, three sacks, four tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, and ten pressures in his six games in a Seahawks uniform. The numbers are amazing on their own, but even more so in light of the surrounding circumstances. Following his arrival in Seattle, Williams has encountered a lot of double teams.
The pass rush has fared reasonably well despite the team’s recent losing streak in large part because of this. Defense has serious issues, but they are mostly the result of scheme, bad tackling, and subpar back-end coverage.
Williams can still be let go by Seattle for a high compensatory pick, but right now we would rather re-sign him than look through the draft for the next Leonard Williams. Anyhow, their resources should be directed toward the defensive line.
This season, Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones have both performed admirably. But the bar needs to be set extremely high to overcome teams like the 49ers who have excellent pass rushers. To match the defensive lines this team must overcome to return to the Super Bowl, John Schneider might need to play with greater aggression than before.
