Bobby Wagner got some of what he was looking for Sunday in his return to Lumen Field, but not all of it.
In his first game back after his release by the Seahawks last March, Wagner represented the Rams for the coin toss and received not only a rousing cheer but also a chant of “Bob-by! Bob-by!”
“It’s fun playing in this stadium,” Wagner said. “We had a lot of great years. I’m grateful for the fans and the love that they showed.”
In making seven tackles, one for a loss, and a quarterback hit, Wagner also felt he might have showed again to anyone on the Seattle sideline — or anywhere else — who questioned if he could still play.
“There’s a lot of doubters, a lot of people that wrote me off before this year,” Wagner said. “I think I silenced some of those.”
What Wagner didn’t get is a win, with Seattle’s 19-16 overtime victory sending the Rams to a 5-12 record, not at all what anyone expected when Wagner signed in March with a team coming off a Super Bowl title. The record was the worst ever for a defending Super Bowl champ.
“It’s hard,” Wagner said. “We gave ourselves an opportunity to win, but they made more plays.”
Once the game ended, Wagner caught up with a few old friends, including giving his jersey to Quandre Diggs, who made the overtime interception that turned the game Seattle’s way and then waved the ball in Wagner’s face as he did.
“Just having fun with it,” said Diggs, who said getting Wagner’s jersey meant the world to him.
Wagner also caught up with coach Pete Carroll before the game then visited the Seahawks locker room he called his home the last 10 years afterward.
“I saw him in pregame, and we had some fun kind of punching at each other,” Carroll said. “I thought he played really good again. He had some terrific plays today. You know, (we) bring out the best in him.”
The pregame reaction, as Carroll had hinted during his Wednesday news conference, was far more rapturous than what greeted Russell Wilson when the Broncos visited for the season opener in September.
“I did hear that,” Carroll said. “I love that. Like I said, they’ll express what they feel, and it will be the right thing, and they did that. I think once they did that, then some people booed. OK, that’s enough, and then let’s get back after him. He is on the other team. But I think it was really fitting and apropos and all that.”
And while the result wasn’t what Wagner wanted, he at least was able to walk off the field this time, unlike his last home game with the Seahawks a year ago when he suffered a knee injury one play in to a game against Detroit.
“I think the biggest thing for me was getting hurt last year on this field,” Wagner said before hinting that his playing days are far from done. “I didn’t want that to be my last play on this field. God is good. I’m blessed to be able to come out and finish all these games. I’m thankful for everybody that helped me get to this point. I’m grateful and I’m excited. I’m healthy and I’m ready to do it again.”
Tyler Lockett gets Steve Largent Award from Largent himself
Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett was honored before the game with the Steve Largent Award, which is voted upon by players and given to the player or coach who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and integrity of the Seahawks.
It was the second straight year Lockett won the award, which has been given since 1989 when Largent won it in his final year as a player.
But this time Largent — who like Lockett, is a native of Tulsa — was able to present it himself in an on-field ceremony before the game.
“For him to be able to have an award named after him, that says what type of person he is,” Locket said. “I even heard that he tried to go out there for governor. He’s all about change, all about inspiration. It’s just pretty cool just to be able to have a chance to meet him; have a chance to hear about him; see some of the phenomenal plays that he made. I mean he did it without gloves. I’m just thankful to have an opportunity to win the award. Thankful for everybody that voted for me, whether it was teammates, or coaches.”
Geno Smith has no problem with Jalen Ramsey hit
Quarterback Geno Smith got the wind knocked out of him when he was hit on the sidelines by Jalen Ramsey after a scramble in the fourth quarter.
Ramsey was called for a personal foul on the play, and combined with the 25 yards Smith gained, Seattle moved from its own 30 to the L.A. 30 to set up a field goal on the final play, that Jason Myers missed.
Smith said he “just got the wind knocked out of me for a second. Was running down the sideline and was moving a little bit and really couldn’t avoid Jalen right there. He kind of dipped his shoulder and hit me in the right spot and just got the wind knocked had out of me. Thank God I was able to get up and just continue to play.”
Smith said he had no issue with Ramsey’s hit.
“No, I thought it was a bang-bang play,” he said. “I didn’t really get a chance to, like, see it. Obviously I’m running, but I thought it was a bang-bang play. He dipped his shoulder, and it happens. That happens almost every week in football.”
Wilson draft pick, 2023 opponents set
Sunday also finalized that the Seahawks will receive the fifth pick in the 2023 draft from Denver as a result of the Russell Wilson trade. That was the worst of the outcomes going into the day, but the pick moved down from three to five when Denver won and Arizona lost.
The results of Sunday also set Seattle’s opponents for 2023.
Home games: Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina.
Away games: Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee and Detroit Lions.
Notes
— Cornerback Tariq Woolen left the field briefly in the second quarter after making a tackle on Van Jefferson but quickly returned. Carroll said he turned his ankle “a little bit.”