The Los Angeles Rams under general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay have never invested much in the inside linebacker position.
Instead, Snead and McVay have targeted skill positions to build the foundation of the team and proved their strategy worked when they took home Super Bowl LVI. However, it seems the duo shifted their thinking when Bobby Wagner was released from the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams and Wagner were able to agree on functionally a two-year deal, and McVay had high praise for his ability as a leader, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“We’re losing some big-time locker room leaders, when you look at what Andrew Whitworth meant to our football team, when you lose a player like what Von Miller’s meant, I thought Eric Weddle’s leadership during the playoff run was vital,” McVay said. “And to be able to have a guy that will be thrust into a leadership role based on the nature of how you communicate from that middle linebacker spot, but then also just who he is as a human being, there’s a lot of positives, a lot of reasons you can be excited about Bobby joining the Rams.”
The loss of respected captains and veterans had to factor in the front office’s offseason strategy as those voices were a key part in their championship run. Wagner was lauded as a leader during his time with the Seahawks and figures to step in and resume that role on the defense.
The team culture McVay has been able to create in L.A. is special and Wagner is about as perfect of a player the team could have brought in to help cultivate it. The Rams have been able to rally each other and Wagner should make a fine addition to what is looking like another stacked roster.
