National Football League

With Bobby Wagner on board, Los Angeles Rams ready to defend Super Bowl title

Updated Jan. 18, 2023 11:11 a.m. ET

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

Coaxing players into early morning film sessions and workouts in the weight room — that’s the type of leadership the Los Angeles Rams can expect from Bobby Wagner.

Lofa Tatupu, a talented linebacker in his own right for six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, served as Wagner’s linebackers coach for two years and has firsthand experience of how the 31-year-old linebacker can affect an organization.

"What they’re excited about is Bobby’s going to have that linebacker group in there at 5:30 or 6 a.m. watching film before they lift," Tatupu told FOX Sports. "These are the things that no one saw. As a coach, we’re already in there. But then you go down the hall, and the light’s on in the linebacker room. I’m going to set up meetings, and I’m like, ‘Who the hell’s in there?’ And Bobby’s got the whole group in there.

"And then slowly you start to see some safeties jumping in there. Before you know it, it’s the whole [defensive] room. On top of the phenomenal performances he puts together, when you can elevate everyone’s level of play or attention to detail — that’s how you really add value to a team. And for a team that just won the Super Bowl, hopefully they can appreciate that because that’s how they can sustain the success they had."

Selected in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Utah State, Wagner established himself as one of the best linebackers in the game during his 10 years in Seattle, reaching the Pro Bowl eight times and earning All-Pro honors six times.

However, Wagner was surprised when Seattle released him last month, soon after trading the only other player on the roster who was part of the team’s Super Bowl run, quarterback Russell Wilson, to the Denver Broncos.

"It was tough because there was a lot of emotions," Wagner, who represents himself, said this week during his introductory news conference. "I always wanted to be in Seattle. I never wanted to leave Seattle. But as soon as they let me go, you had to kind of separate the emotions of a player and an agent. I can be frustrated as a player, but at the end of the day, I had a job to do: to try and figure out where my next home was going to be. So I kind of switched mindsets. … The player [in me] kind of took it personal, but the agent just went to work."

Adding to Wagner’s frustration was the fact that he didn’t find out directly from the team, which general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll later apologized for publicly.

"I saw their apology, and I’m grateful," Wagner said. "But when they said it was because I represented myself, I felt like that part was weak."

Wagner said he started his free agent process by reaching out to teams and letting them know he was the person to contact. He said several teams did not realize that he is his own agent.

Rams general manager Les Snead said he couldn’t remember negotiating directly with a player. But after Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey reached out to Wagner to gauge his interest, Snead laid out to Wagner the framework of the Rams’ potential interest.

"We were very clear from the beginning with what we could and couldn’t do, and we worked with him through that," Snead said. "And then we let him know we would be patient on our end, and then he could go through the process and get a feel for the landscape."

Wagner visited the Baltimore Ravens but ultimately decided to stay on the West Coast. He said revenge was not a factor in his signing a five-year deal to join the NFC West-rival Rams.

However, he also acknowledged that he looks forward to seeing Seattle on the field twice in 2022.

"A lot of people think it went into my decision, being able to play the Seahawks," Wagner said. "I don’t have that much hate in my heart. I really wanted to be happy and be close to home and stay on the West Coast. That was important to me.

"But playing the Seahawks twice a year was the cherry on top. And I’ll make sure they see me every time we play them. They’ll know where I’m at, and I’ll make sure I’ll tell them. It won’t be a quiet game for me."

Wagner grew up in Ontario, California, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Signing with the Rams is a homecoming for him, and he also has the chance to help the Rams achieve something that has not been done since the 2004 New England Patriots: repeating as champions.

Wagner and the Seahawks, of course, finished just a yard short of that goal in 2015, losing to the Patriots on an interception by Malcolm Butler in the end zone on a ball thrown by Wilson.

"I think what it takes to pull it off is staying humble," Wagner said, when asked about repeating. "Sometimes when you win a championship, you forget that it was a grind to get to that championship. So the faster you get to the grind and getting back to work, that’s the biggest thing.

"And you understand, as the champions, you’re going to get everybody’s best shot. Everybody’s going to want to try and beat you every single week, so you have to bring your best, your A-game. As long as the leaders are helping the young guys elevate, there’s definitely an opportunity to do it again."

Rams head coach Sean McVay said that with his team losing players such as Andrew Whitworth, Von Miller and Eric Weddle, Wagner will help fill a leadership void in the locker room. He also will serve as a mentor for Ernest Jones, whom the Rams selected in the third round last year and believe has a similar skill set.

"It’s definitely a benefit not having to play against him," McVay said. "He’s one of those guys that can fit in any sort of system. The leadership was a real big part of it … to be able to have a guy that will be thrust into a leadership role, just from the nature of how you communicate from that middle linebacker spot but also just who he is as a human being."

In Wagner, the Rams add a player who brings knowledge on the division, including the San Francisco 49ers, from his years in Seattle. The Rams are 1-6 against San Francisco the past three seasons. They’ve struggled to stop the 49ers’ potent running game, with the Niners averaging 113 yards per contest since 2019.

However, with Wagner at the center of Seattle’s defense, the Seahawks were 5-1 against the Niners over the same period, holding San Francisco to just 95 rushing yards on average.

"I’ve always felt him when you’re watching Niners’ film, and you see the presence he’s made," McVay said of Wagner.

Wagner will wear No. 45 for the Rams. With Miller no longer on the roster, L.A. could use Wagner more as a pass-rusher. He has 23.5 career sacks and 78.5 quarterback hits.

"I’m excited to see how they use him, and how they execute on using his strengths," Tatupu said. "Sometimes I wished we blitzed him a little more. He’s one of the best blitzing linebackers I’ve ever seen in the history of the game. It is a mismatch whether it’s a running back or one-on-one with the guard or the center."

Snead shared that former Rams head coach Jeff Fisher liked Wagner during the pre-draft process and wanted to select him. However, then-Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. had worked out Wagner at his pro day, and Seattle was bullish on the 6-foot, 240-pound prospect.

The Rams selected cornerback Janoris Jenkins with the No. 39 selection and then traded back to get extra picks, and Seattle snagged Wagner at No. 47 — three picks before L.A.’s second pick in the second round.

After missing on Wagner in the draft a decade ago, "about a thousand tackles later," Snead said he now has him as the centerpiece of L.A.’s defense.

"The Bobby Wagner rule became, ‘You know what? If you just like a player, don’t try to figure out where he is or isn’t going,’" Snead quipped. "Just pick the guy."

Tatupu could relate to the sting Wagner felt after being released. He also was a popular player released by the Seahawks in 2011. Tatupu signed with the Atlanta Falcons the next year.

"It was tough when I got released," he said. "But especially, knowing Bobby and how loyal of a guy he is at heart and how much this city means to him, I’ve got to believe it was the same way I felt. And I only played here six years; he played here 10 years.

"And we’re talking about a guy that will be in the Ring of Honor and is a Hall of Famer. I can only imagine how difficult it was when he got the news that they were moving on. Bobby is the ultimate professional. In the two years I got to coach him, it’s a tribute for my man [former Seahawks defensive coordinator] Ken Norton for doing such a great job of bringing him and K.J. [Wright] along in the early years of their career."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.