The Seahawks signed Bobby Wagner to a one-year contract yesterday, a year after saying goodbye (and watching him sign with division-rival Rams). Maybe they regretted parting ways in the first place, or maybe it was because the guy who replaced him, Jordyn Brooks, tore his ACL in Week 17, and should be considered uncertain for the start of the season.
Seattle's other starting inside linebacker most of last year, Cody Barton, signed with Washington in free agency. So the plan might be to start both Wagner and Brooks even if the latter is healthy. Seattle also signed Devin Bush, who could start if Brooks isn't ready for Week 1. Whatever the case, Wagner is going to be back in the lineup for this defense, adding to an impressive track record for production.
Notably, showing up. Since the start of the 2016 season, Wagner has started 112 of 114 possible games. That's seven seasons worth of games, and he's recorded 1,045 tackles across that timeframe. That's not just more than any other player, it's way more than any more player. The closest defender to him is longtime Viking and now Charger Eric Kendricks, who's 218 tackles behind him. (Data from pro-football-reference.com was used in compiling this table.)
TOTAL TACKLES, 2016-2022 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Comb |
Bobby Wagner | MLB | 112 | 607 | 438 | 1045 |
Eric Kendricks | LB | 103 | 507 | 320 | 827 |
Demario Davis | ILB | 113 | 514 | 274 | 788 |
Lavonte David | ILB | 104 | 544 | 225 | 769 |
Jordan Hicks | ILB | 101 | 470 | 247 | 717 |
Blake Martinez | ILB | 84 | 442 | 264 | 706 |
De'Vondre Campbell | MLB | 104 | 461 | 243 | 704 |
Deion Jones | MLB | 96 | 453 | 243 | 696 |
Roquan Smith | ILB | 78 | 451 | 242 | 693 |
Joe Schobert | LB | 99 | 418 | 259 | 677 |
C.J. Mosley | LB | 80 | 428 | 236 | 664 |
Shaq Thompson | ILB | 103 | 413 | 246 | 659 |
Budda Baker | SS | 93 | 468 | 182 | 650 |
Foyesade Oluokun | LB | 81 | 400 | 246 | 646 |
Vonn Bell | SS | 109 | 435 | 201 | 636 |
Christian Kirksey | ILB | 82 | 400 | 234 | 634 |
Fred Warner | MLB | 81 | 411 | 223 | 634 |
Kevin Byard | FS | 114 | 434 | 193 | 627 |
Harrison Smith | SS | 106 | 465 | 161 | 626 |
Jaylon Smith | LB | 87 | 376 | 248 | 624 |
Jordan Poyer | FS | 97 | 437 | 184 | 621 |
Zach Cunningham | ILB | 82 | 392 | 228 | 620 |
Myles Jack | ILB | 103 | 396 | 221 | 617 |
Logan Ryan | CB | 101 | 420 | 171 | 591 |
Landon Collins | SS | 84 | 405 | 174 | 579 |
Adrian Amos | S | 110 | 459 | 110 | 569 |
Tremaine Edmunds | MLB | 74 | 359 | 206 | 565 |
Kareem Jackson | S | 107 | 407 | 157 | 564 |
Shaquille Leonard | LB | 61 | 351 | 198 | 549 |
Anthony Hitchens | ILB | 87 | 311 | 232 | 543 |
Cory Littleton | LB | 110 | 340 | 202 | 542 |
Justin Simmons | FS | 103 | 390 | 144 | 534 |
Tahir Whitehead | MLB | 80 | 372 | 156 | 528 |
K.J. Wright | ILB | 85 | 310 | 216 | 526 |
Devin McCourty | FS | 114 | 393 | 126 | 519 |
Denzel Perryman | MLB | 82 | 342 | 171 | 513 |
John Johnson | S | 86 | 342 | 170 | 512 |
Jerome Baker | LB | 81 | 331 | 178 | 509 |
Tyrann Mathieu | FS | 106 | 408 | 98 | 506 |
Luke Kuechly | MLB | 57 | 319 | 182 | 501 |
Adrian Phillips | DB | 102 | 332 | 166 | 498 |
Kwon Alexander | LB | 83 | 354 | 143 | 497 |
Malcolm Jenkins | SS | 96 | 374 | 122 | 496 |
Benardrick McKinney | LB | 77 | 294 | 202 | 496 |
Alec Ogletree | ILB | 75 | 325 | 169 | 494 |
Devin White | LB | 62 | 315 | 168 | 483 |
Jessie Bates III | FS | 79 | 327 | 152 | 479 |
Rashaan Evans | ILB | 76 | 282 | 194 | 476 |
Keanu Neal | S | 80 | 328 | 145 | 473 |
Anthony Walker | MLB | 73 | 305 | 164 | 469 |
Wagner will turn 33 in June, explaining why it's a fairly modest deal (1 year, $7 million). But he's continued to put up big tackle numbers; 140 for the Rams last season. Probably more of the same kind of production in 2023. Those of us who play in IDP leagues will make him an early selection yet again.
--Andy Richardson