Rejoice, Twelves. Bobby Wagner is a Seattle Seahawk again.

Things haven’t felt this right since David Lee Roth rejoined Van Halen. Who gives a rat’s ass if Bobby isn’t as fast as he used to be. David Lee Roth’s karate kicks weren’t exactly what they were when he finally came back to Eddie, either.

Bobby Wagner should be a Seattle Seahawk, and he needs to be a Seattle Seahawk. The fans want him, the players want him, and so do the coaches.

This team needs him, too. They have a young defense that needs to find itself now. With five picks in the top 80 of the draft next month, expect Seattle to add more young defenders to it.

Bobby Wagner is the only player left from Pete Carroll’s Super Bowl teams, and the dude can still play in the eyes of Pro Football Focus (who had him ranked as their top linebacker last season). As Seattle tries to further figure out its new scheme, Pete Carroll needs the calming presence of Bobby who has been there and done that at a very high level for a very long time. He needs his voice, his knowledge, and his skill.

Yes, he’s not as fast as he once was, but he can still call a defense and lead, and he can tackle, and get after a quarterback (if called upon). Let Devin Bush and Jordyn Brooks (when healthy again) be the speedy guys at WILL linebacker to make the splash plays. Let Dre’Mont Jones offer some playing making abilities at defensive tackle, and Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor get after it on the edges, and let the loaded safety rotation make their plays along with Tariq Woolen and the other young corners.

Just let Bobby lead, and quarterback this defense. He knows, better than anyone, what Pete Carroll wants on this side of the ball. I don’t care if it’s 4-3, 3-4, 5-2, or what have you; when he talks, players will be listening, and responding. This, I feel very certain about.

Seattle’s run defense was crap last year, and we all saw it. Sure, it could have been questionable scheme stuff mixed with bad personnel fits. I sure wasn’t a fan of that 2-4-5 stuff they ran a bunch out of.

It could also be that they didn’t have Bobby as the MIKE linebacker, and Jordyn Brooks, as talented as he physically is, just isn’t Bobby in regards to handling the calls, and getting guys seeing the right things, and lined up the right way. For all we know, Bobby Wagner could have been missed in ways many of us didn’t consider as we watched defensive linemen get blown back and Cody Barton late on getting to a ball carrier.

Football is a game where split second decisions matter, confidence matters, and instincts need to take over. Reaction time needs to be immediate, and the decisions need to be right, and when shit isn’t working, strong voices need to vocalize.

However you feel about this signing, one thing is for certain; this team wanted him back. Pete and John wanted him back, and they were talking to him the moment they could. Quandre Diggs, the team’s defensive captain from last year, relentlessly pounded the table for his return to Seattle all over Twitter, daily.

That said, I saw some folks on Seahawks Twitter (who are much more studious of the game than I ever will be) practically beating their chests in lamentation over Seattle bringing him back, and frankly, I don’t know what to think. I respect and appreciate their views, but I also am kinda more inclined to trust the Seahawk brain trust more on this one.

All I know is that I believe Pete, and John, and Quandre probably know what this team needs better than most of the football footbally Mister Footballersons on Twitter know. These dudes all wanted Bobby back, and I don’t believe it’s to fill some feel good storyline for the club, either. They want to win, and they think he’s a key to it.

My hunch is that Bobby with Jarran Reed, and Dre’Mont Jones, and Devin Bush, all signal the likelihood of them morphing this defense back into more of the aggressive front they had in 2020 and 2021, and I think they are a couple more defensive tackles away from making finishing out the most of the roster on that side of the ball. My hunch is that either Poona Ford or Al Woods comes back, and they add someone from the draft, and maybe even one more defensive tackle for good measure, or so forth, and so such.

Bobby, in my mind, is probably key to bringing it along because he’s played in it here before, he did very well in the role that the Rams defined for him in LA last year, and Seattle sees him in a similar role here. You put that together with his obvious leaderships intangibles, and yes, I think this makes a lot of football sense.

And it is also very much giving this fanbase exactly what it wants.

Bobby Wagner is LOVED here. He is Edgar Martinez loved here, Lenny Wilkins loved here, Sue Bird loved here, and Steve Largent loved here. If the City of Seattle wanted to name a street around the stadium after him someday, I don’t think you would get many arguments.

Bobby Wagner will be a first ballet Hall of Famer, and he might be the only player out of the Pete Carroll era who will see his number eventually retired.. and he never wanted to leave Seattle in the first place.

So, yes, absolutely it makes sense that they should bring him back. It was a great move, and I’m excited about him leading this team again. In fact, I’m pumped!

Go Hawks!