To Seahawks fans, it might feel like just yesterday when Bobby Wagner came into his own as the middle linebacker of Seattle's vaunted defense.
His first Pro Bowl selection followed Seattle's ascension to the top of the football world, making the postseason showcase in the 2014 season. The Seahawks, of course, came a yard away from winning Super Bowl XLIX that year, and while they never returned, Wagner maintained his excellence, making four more Pro Bowls and landing on the All-Pro team three times.
That run has his coach, Pete Carroll, convinced he's headed toward a gold jacket and bronze bust in Canton.
"It just seems like he's a little bit better," Carroll said, per USA Today. "He's made more big plays, more significant plays that have affected the game than ever.
"The thing I love about looking at great players is do they show that ability to do it year after year after year. I think that's what greatness is all about. People say 'hey this guy is going to be the next Jerry Rice' well let's look ten or 12 years from now and see what it looks like. And Bobby's put together a resume of really Hall of Fame stuff. This is the kind of guy that gets there someday."
Wagner is among the league's top two middle linebackers at this moment, logging 69 tackles, 1.0 sack, 11 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one interception, which he returned 98 yards for a touchdown. He didn't have a registered miss tackle in his first 12 games of this season. If you ask any random NFL player, they'll likely agree that he's on a trajectory to make the Hall of Fame. But there's still the point of capping off such a career with sustained success.
Coincidentally, a linebacker with similar accolades (same amount of Pro Bowls, counting his inclusion as an alternate in 1986, but less All-Pro selections) was being propped up by his former team's social media channels on Wednesday:
Wagner has eclipsed Clay Matthews Jr.'s accomplishments in terms of postseason accolades, and still has many years left to play. He also has the Super Bowl ring that always seemed to elude Matthews. Now, it's just up to time to determine whether Wagner someday finds himself in Canton.
"The leadership that he's brought and the direction and the focus that he's brought on a regular basis, I mean he's been a perfect Seahawk throughout the time he's been here," Carroll said. "We're just very lucky to have him."
