Veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner has been a boon for the Los Angeles Rams’ defense since he signed with the team in the offseason after a decade with the Seattle Seahawks. His poise, tenacity, and experience have made a world of difference for the Rams’ young defensive squad, and despite their lack of production in the win column, his presence is indispensable to their ability to stay competitive in their losses at a bare minimum.
Facing his former teammate Russell Wilson on Sunday in a Christmas afternoon matchup, Wagner should be primed for a big game against the struggling Denver Broncos. A reporter asked him in the Rams’ Wednesday press conference about the advantage that he might have against Wilson, and Wagner told the media that he will have to wait for the game to know whether the quarterback’s game will be the same as it was when they played together in Seattle.
“To an extent,” Wagner explained. “When you see somebody for 10 years, you kind of know what they like and what they don’t like. But he’s evolved as a player and especially as he moved there, there’s little things that he does differently. But at the end of the day, once you get going and you start hitting and all this stuff, it slows down. The concepts that he likes and the things he likes to do will come to surface and hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of those things.”
Whether Wagner’s experience against Wilson will play out in such a way that provides him a distinct advantage or not, the All-Pro linebacker will make a difference either way. The Broncos have had a supremely disappointing season with Wilson under center, and even as Los Angeles has faced their own adversity in 2022, with Wagner on their side, they should be able to pull out a win against Denver in Week 16.
