Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll Reveals What Makes Bobby Wagner Special: ‘True Hall of Famer’
It's hard to find a player who means more to the Seattle Seahawks than longtime linebacker Bobby Wagner, if there even is one.
A second-round pick in 2012, Wagner has been the face of the Seahawks' defense for his entire time in Seattle. He spent the first decade of his career in the Emerald City, then after spending the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams, he returned home this offseason. Through it all, Wagner has consistently been a force with at least 100 tackles every season and six All-Pro selections.
Wagner, 33, is clearly a special player, but what makes him so special? According to coach Pete Carroll, Wagner's obvious physical gifts are a huge part of the equation.
Carroll speaks to Wagner on the sideline.
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“There’s many parts of that,” Carroll said on KIRO Newsradio 97.3. “He couldn’t have done this if he wasn’t physically really the right makeup and gifted. He’s the perfect size, weight, speed to play the position. That’s part of it. That’s just the basics of it.”
Of course, talent without the right mentality is useless. Luckily for Carroll and the Seahawks, Wagner has the perfect mentality to thrive at the NFL level like he has for so long.
“That elevates him above others in his consistency and his commitment to maintaining the continuity to his process that’s so strong and so obviously almost perfect to get this done,” Carroll said.
Altogether, Wagner represents one of the game's greats in Carroll's eyes.
“He’s an all-timer for me. A true Hall of Famer,” Carroll said. “He is as much of a shoo-in as anybody could ever be when the time comes. And we’re lucky to have spent all this time together … I’m thrilled that we’ve had a chance to get back together to do this again. It’s worked out exactly as we could have hoped it could work out to this point."
Wagner is on the verge of even more history. With just five tackles against the Rams on Sunday, he can become just the third player ever to have 100 tackles in 12 consecutive seasons. Even with so many accomplishments under his belt already, Wagner's story in Seattle is far from over.
"We’ve got a lot to do this season and we’ll see if we can get it done, but he will always be one of the all-timers,” Carroll said.
