There are many reasons the Commanders are bringing back veteran LB Bobby Wagner.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked Tuesday about the reasons for bringing back the future Hall of Fame linebacker. Quinn responded that the reason was similar to the reasoning he gave earlier in why he wanted Marcus Mariota to return as well.
"You want to re-sign great teammates, but you also want to re-sign great players," emphasized Quinn. "And when those two things are in sync, man, that's a no-brainer. So, the impact Bobby (Wagner) made on and off the field was excellent. I can still remember we were in a tough stretch (three-game losing streak with losses to the Steelers, Eagles, Cowboys) and he was the one that stood up in front of the team, and I think that was something that showed the leader that he is, because he is soft-spoken."
Quinn likes how Wagner sets the bar high for his teammates and then leads his teammates to attempt great things throughout the weeks in preparation for the upcoming game. "He's got really high standards. He's the first one, he and Jayden (Daniels) to the building every morning. But I think that shows over and over again how committed he is, and other people see that."
Consequently, again, Quinn wanted the press to understand that yes, they want good leaders to return, but the first thing is that the player still needs to be one who can contribute on the field and earn the respect of his teammates.
Quinn concluded, "So, it was both (leader and player), but it was the ball player first. When you can add the ball player and the teammate? Man, that's an easy one to do. That was really important for us... for Adam (Peters) and Bobby to get that done together; that's also some uniqueness there as well. I think that is one of the coolest things."
Wagner led the 2024 Commanders in solo tackles (75), assisted tackles (57), and combined tackles 132. He also contributed 10 tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, two quarterback sacks, two fumbles recovered, one forced fumble and four passes defended.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Dan Quinn appreciates Bobby Wagner's 'really high standards'
