wr. I think one thing we can all agree on is if Green Bay wants their defense to have any kind of success in 2022, middle linebacker has to be a priority. We all saw the impact that De’Vondre Campbell had in 2021, he completely changed the outlook of the defense.
The Case for De’Vondre Campbell.
The Packers brought De’Vondre Campbell in on a one-year, $2 million contract during the 2020-2021 off-season. All Campbell did was register a career-high 146 tackles, two interceptions, and two sacks in 16 starts. He was also named to his first ever All-Pro Team in his career.
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell was the only linebacker with at least 80 solo tackles this season who had fewer than double-digit missed tackles. PFF credited him with just four. Despite sitting out of the regular-season finale in Detroit to rest an elbow injury, Campbell still finished third on Green Bay’s defense with 988 defensive snaps played.
It feels as though the only way Green Bay doesn’t bring back De’Vondre Campbell is the contract. There is no way Green Bay lets the man who had one of the best Middle Linebacker seasons of recent franchise memory go without a fight. However De’Vondre deserves to be paid after this year, and we’re not sure if Green Bay can foot that bill.
The Case for Bobby Wagner.
Bobby Wagner is a generational talent that any team would be lucky to have on their defense. Wagner coming off a 170-tackle season that earned him his eighth Pro Bowl nod in 10 seasons. In 2020, Wagner was one of 22 defenders named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the All-Decade Team for the 2010s. His Hall of Fame-worthy résumé also includes six first team All-Pro selections and two second team All-Pro selections.
It is important to note that Bobby Wagner hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to Seattle. He had a 20+ million dollar cap hit for the 2022 season, which I don’t think any team would be willing to pay for a linebacker. It is also interesting that Bobby Wagner is still his own agent. He negotiated his 3 year deal in 2019 that set the standard for linebackers at the time (three-years – $54 million).
Thank you Seattle for everything. It will forever be my home.
— Bobby Wagner (@Bwagz) March 9, 2022
While is certainly seems like goodbye for now from Seattle, Bobby has decisions to make. If going to a competitive team is something he is interested in, Seattle is no longer for him. He is 31 years old and stated: “I would like to say that I’m a pretty good businessman and I would like to say I have a lot of respect here,” Wagner said. “So I’m just going to go into my businessman mentality and work some stuff out.”
At the end of the day Green Bay must invest in this position.
If Green Bay wants continued success like they haven’t seen in recent memory, they need to put some money into the Middle Linebacker position.
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