New Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner turns 34 in June. Before he signed with Washington in March, he had lived on the West Coast his entire life. Wagner grew up in California, played college football at Utah State, and played for the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.
So when Wagner signed with the Commanders, familiarity helped. Wagner is close to head coach Dan Quinn and linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. Both have served as Wagner’s defensive coordinator during his time in Seattle, so they were the biggest factor in him choosing Washington.
The offseason program began last month, and Wagner officially moved to Virginia. Obviously, the time change would be the most difficult aspect of Wagner’s move.
While the time change has taken some getting used to, Wagner explained the most significant change he’s experienced.
“You know that the biggest challenge of being on the East Coast is trying to watch a basketball game,” Wagner said. “It’s like the game that I wanna watch comes on at 10:30, comes off at 12:30, and then practice, I gotta be up at 6:45 or whatever it is. That’s been the hardest part. Luckily, the Lakers are not playing, so I’m cool.”
LB Bobby Wagner speaks to the media after today’s OTA https://t.co/7DVzm42RPX
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) May 22, 2024
The good news for Wagner is that the NBA Playoffs are in the conference championships. The Lakers were eliminated in the first round weeks ago, so hopefully, Wagner can get some rest over the next few months.