For anyone who read Fox Sports' Ben Arthur's piece on still-available free agents' best-fit destinations recently, his suggestion of the San Francisco 49ers signing veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner might've resulted in some raised eyebrows.
Two offseasons ago, such a suggestion would have made a good deal of sense. After all, the Niners knew they were going to be without star backer Dre Greenlaw after he tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl in February of 2024, and had San Francisco gone the Wagner route, it wouldn't have ultimately settled on the failed De'Vondre Campbell experiment.
But Wagner ultimately joined the Washington Commanders to play under head coach Dan Quinn—the two continuing a relationship they flourished in when both were with the Seattle Seahawks' prime years of the mid-2010s.
Now a free agent, Arthur speculated the 49ers as a reasonable fit:
At 35 years old, Wagner is well past his prime. But he remains a very cerebral and effective player in the run game, coming off his 10th straight season with at least 130 tackles. It’s why he makes sense as a top backup option for the 49ers, who have injury concerns at both inside linebacker positions — former All-Pro Fred Warner is coming off a season-ending ankle injury, and Dre Greenlaw has played in just 10 games over the past two seasons combined.Â
Wagner’s longtime Seahawks teammate, KJ Wright, is also San Francisco’s linebackers coach.Â
On the surface, there's some sense to it. It's impossible to overlook the Wright-Wagner connection, and the Niners do have concerns about both Warner and Greenlaw's health.
But the irony of bringing aboard a formerly hated All-Pro who tormented San Francisco for years at this stage of his career doesn't quite add up.
49ers would have few reasons to go down the Bobby Wagner road
Speaking of irony, the 49ers have signed ex-Hawks they once hated before, namely cornerback Richard Sherman back in 2018, and that move went well.
But Wagner is in an entirely different context. For starters, he'll turn 36 years old this summer and is far removed from the perennial All-Pro type of player he once was. And while Greenlaw's injury history is concerning, Warner was this close to getting back on the field last postseason despite his own devastating ankle injury earlier in 2025.
In fact, the Niners felt good enough about their linebacker depth earlier this offseason that they opted to trade last year's starting backer, Dee Winters, to the Dallas Cowboys last April.
Now, if San Francisco suffered all kinds of injury attrition again at the position, and Wagner was still available, it'd be another story.
But that's not the case right now, and there's a good chance it won't be anytime soon either.
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