Veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner and the Los Angeles Rams reportedly parted ways mutually Thursday per ESPN.
It’s a surprising turn of events for Wagner as he agreed to a five-year, $50 million deal prior to the start of last season.
But as ESPN points out, the Rams have been looking to create cap space. Prior to the Wagner transaction, OverTheCap.com had the Rams close to $15 million over the cap.
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Wagner was set to be a $12.5 million cap hit in 2023, and since he’s looking to win, he’d rather try free agency again.
The Rams were fresh off a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals heading into last season, which attracted Wagner to the club. But with devastating injuries throughout the roster, Los Angeles went 5-12 on the year to miss the playoffs.
Wagner finished his 11th NFL season with 140 combined tackles (10 for loss) with six sacks, five passes defended and two interceptions in 17 games as the Rams’ middle linebacker.
Prior to joining Los Angeles, Wagner spent 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, collecting a Super Bowl ring in 2014 and never having less than 104 tackles in every season. That streak continued with the Rams.
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Heading into free agency, Wagner should have many teams calling for his services next season as the 32-year-old hasn’t missed a game in the last four seasons and six of the last seven. As the saying goes in the NFL, availability is the best ability.
Wagner has also been named a first- or second-team All-Pro in 10 of his 11 NFL campaigns, including his last nine.
As for the Rams, they will need to make more moves if they wish to get some room to make free-agent acquisitions as well as housing their NFL draft class.
