Bobby Wagner
Bobby Joseph Wagner is an American professional football linebacker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League. He played college football for the Utah State Aggies and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. Wagner spent ten years with the Seahawks before playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, later returning to Seattle for a second stint in 2023.
Regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history, Wagner is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks in 2013. He is also a ten-time Pro Bowler, an eleven-time All-Pro selection, a three-time NFL combined tackles leader, and leads all active players in career tackles. Wagner also won the Art Rooney Award in 2023. He is also a minority owner of the WNBA's Seattle Storm.
Business ventures
In August 2024, Wagner purchased and opened a franchise location of the Crumbl Cookies bakery chain at The Landing shopping mall in Renton, Washington. Wagner stated that opening the Crumbl location was “one of the steps I’m looking to take to stay connected to the beautiful city of Seattle.”Early life
Wagner was born on June 27, 1990, in Los Angeles, California. He attended Colony High School in Ontario, California, where he played high school football for the Titans. In 2007, he registered 125 tackles, including four sacks as a senior. He also played tight end, tallying 37 catches for 595 yards with 11 touchdowns. He received all-CIF Central Division honors as well as all-Mount Baldy League accolades. He earned second-team California Division 2 all-state honors after helping lead the Titans to a CIF division title and was named to the All-San Bernardino County team. Considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Wagner's only offer came from Utah State.College career
Wagner attended Utah State University from 2008 to 2011. A four-year starter, he recorded 445 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and four interceptions during his career. As a senior in 2011, Wagner was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year after recording 147 tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions.Professional career
On January 14, 2012, it was announced that Wagner had accepted his invitation to play in the 2012 Senior Bowl. He became the first Utah State player to play in the game since Chris Cooley in 2004. On January 28, 2012, Wagner played in the Senior Bowl and recorded 22 combined tackles and an interception for the North team coached by Leslie Frazier that defeated the South team 23–13. He was named the Senior Bowl MVP and was also named the North's Most Outstanding Player. Wagner received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, but was unable to attend after coming down with pneumonia. On March 30, 2012, Wagner attended Utah State's Pro Day and impressed scouts and team representatives after performing all of the combine drills. He displayed his versatility and athleticism throughout his workout and helped solidify himself as a top linebacker. His 40-yard dash and broad jump would have finished first among all linebackers in at the NFL combine and his vertical would have tied with California's Mychal Kendricks for first. His broad jump was five inches better than any linebacker at the combine and would have finished third among all positions. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Wagner was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the fourth best outside linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.Seattle Seahawks
2012
The Seattle Seahawks selected Wagner in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. He is the 11th highest player selected in the NFL draft from Utah State and the highest since Rulon Jones in 1980. The Seahawks also drafted his Utah State teammate Robert Turbin in the fourth round. On May 7, 2012, the Seahawks signed Wagner to a four-year, $4.30 million contract that includes $2.51 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.57 million.Wagner entered training camp competing for the vacant starting middle linebacker role against Barrett Ruud and Matt McCoy. Although Ruud was initially supposed to replace David Hawthorne, an injury sidelined him during organized team activities, giving Wagner valuable time with the first team defense. Head coach Pete Carroll named Wagner the starting middle linebacker, along with outside linebackers K. J. Wright and Leroy Hill, to start the regular season.
He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Seahawks season-opener at the Arizona Cardinals and recorded four combined tackles during their 20–16 loss. In Week 5, Wagner recorded five combined tackles and made his first career sack on Cam Newton in the Seahawks' 16–12 victory. The next week, he made a season-high 14 combined tackles in a 24–23 victory against the New England Patriots. On November 25, 2012, Wagner recorded nine combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted his first career pass off Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill during a 24–21 loss. On December 9, 2012, he collected eight combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes off of John Skelton in a 58–0 routing against the Arizona Cardinals. Wagner finished his rookie season with 140 combined tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions. and two sacks in 16 games and 15 starts. Pro Football Focus ranked him the second best inside linebacker in 2012 and the best rookie linebacker during the season. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
The Seahawks finished second in the NFC West with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth. On January 6, 2013, Wagner started in his first career playoff game and recorded nine combined tackles during a 24–14 victory at the Washington Redskins in the National Football Conference Wild Card Round. They were eliminated by the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round.
2013: Super Bowl championship
Wagner remained the starting middle linebacker to start the 2013 regular season under new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. On September 22, 2013, he recorded nine combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted Chad Henne as the Seahawks defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle's former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley 45–17, who became the Jaguars head coach in 2013. Wagner missed the first two games of his career after suffering a high ankle sprain. In Week 9, Wagner collected 11 combined tackles and was credited with 1.5 sacks on Mike Glennon during a 27–24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On December 29, 2013, he made a season-high 12 combined tackles during a 27–9 victory against the St. Louis Rams. He finished the season with 120 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, five sacks, and two interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts. PFF ranked Wagner the 61st best player in the league in 2013, regardless of position.The Seahawks finished the season atop their division with a 13–3 record. On January 19, 2014, Wagner started in the NFC Championship and recorded 15 combined tackles during a 23–17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. On February 2, 2014, Wagner started in his first career Super Bowl and made ten combined tackles as the Seahawks routed the Denver Broncos 43–8 and won Super Bowl XLVIII.
2014
Wagner, K. J. Wright, and Bruce Irvin returned as the starting linebacker corps in 2014. Wagner started the Seahawks' season-opener against the Green Bay Packers and recorded a season-high 14 combined tackles during a 36–16 victory on Thursday Night Football. Unfortunately, he missed five games after suffering turf toe. On December 14, 2014, Wagner recorded his fourth game with at least ten combined tackles and sacked Colin Kaepernick during a 17–7 victory over the 49ers. Wagner finished the 2014 season with 104 combined tackles, nine tackles for a loss, three pass deflections, and two sacks in 11 games and 11 starts. Even though he missed five games, he was voted into his first Pro Bowl and was named First Team All-Pro. For the third straight season, the Seahawks' defense finished first in the NFL in points allowed, making Wagner a key starter on the top defense every year of his career so far. For his efforts that season, he received a single MVP vote from Tony Dungy, largely due to the Seahawks allowing 20.4 points per game without Wagner and 6.5 points per game in the six games after he returned from an injury.On February 1, 2015, the Seahawks played in Super Bowl XLIX after defeating the Panthers in the Divisional Round and then the Packers in the NFC Championship. Wagner recorded 12 combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by Tom Brady in the Seahawks 28–24 last-second loss to the Patriots. Wagner made the NFL Top 100 Players for the first time in his career after he garnered enough votes from his NFL peers to finish ranked 69th in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.
2015
On August 2, 2015, the Seahawks signed Wagner to a four-year, $43 million contract extension that included $19.97 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $8 million.Irvin, Wright, and Wagner remained the starters under new defensive coordinator Kris Richard to begin 2015. On October 11, 2015, Wagner recorded seven combined tackles, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery, and scored his first career touchdown during a 27–24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Defensive end Michael Bennett caused Bengals' running back Rex Burkhead to fumble in the third quarter, which Wagner recovered and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Wagner missed the Seahawks' Week 6 loss to the Carolina Panthers with a pectoral strain. In Week 10, Wagner collected 11 combined tackles, deflected a pass, recovered a fumble, and scored his second touchdown of the season, as the Seahawks lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 39–32. In the fourth quarter of that game, linebacker K. J. Wright sacked quarterback Carson Palmer for a nine-yard loss and jarred the ball loose resulting in a fumble. Wagner recovered the fumble and returned it for a 22-yard touchdown. On November 29, 2015, he tied his season-high of 12 combined tackles and deflected a pass in Seattle's 39–30 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He finished the 2015 season with 114 combined tackles and seven pass deflections, and was credited with only half a sack in 15 games and 15 starts. This marked his first and only season without a solo sack. Wagner finished second on the team in tackles, falling two behind leader K. J. Wright. He was voted to the 2016 Pro Bowl and was named to the Associated Press All-Pro second team. PFF ranked Wagner the 30th-best linebacker in 2015. His teammate K. J. Wright was ranked the sixth-best linebacker by PFF and Bruce Irvin was ranked 15th.
The Seahawks finished second in the NFC West with a 10–6 record. They went on to defeat the Vikings, 10–9, in the NFC Wild Card Round and then lost, 31–24, to the Panthers in the Divisional Round as Wagner recorded 13 combined tackles. On January 31, 2016, Wagner played in his first Pro Bowl game and recorded ten combined tackles to help Team Irvin defeat Team Rice, 49–27, and win the 2016 Pro Bowl.