Patriots Not On Initial List Of Teams Reportedly Pursuing Bobby Wagner

For Bobby Wagner to join the New EPatriots, he first must leave the West Coast. That might not even happen.

The three non-Seahawks NFC West teams — Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams — are pursuing the eight-time All-Pro linebacker, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. Wagner, 31, was released by Seattle on Wednesday and is free to sign with any team ahead of next Wednesday’s official start to NFL free agency.

“He’s going to get significant interest on the free agent market,” Rapoport said Thursday morning during an NFL Network appearance. “And … don’t be surprised if he actually stays in the division. There’s already interest in Wagner from three teams that he played against twice a year while he was in Seattle.”

The Patriots need help at linebacker, and Matthew Judon already has taken a crack at recruiting Wagner. New England’s salary cap situation might prevent it from signing a player of Wagner’s caliber, but the Patriots nevertheless make plenty of sense as a possible landing spot.

Jordan Schultz, a reporter with a spotty-at-best track record, claimed Thursday that the Patriots have interest in Wagner. His report probably should be taken with a grain of salt.

New England reportedly is prioritizing linebacker help this season. So, Patriots fans probably can expect the front seven to look a bit different in 2021.

Click the link below for our breakdown of which linebackers the Patriots could pursue in free agency.