Seattle Seahawks releasing longtime defensive captain Bobby Wagner, source says

SEATTLE — A franchise-altering day for the Seattle Seahawks continued Tuesday evening with the team informing All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner that he is being released, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The news came hours after Schefter's report that the Seahawks have agreed to trade quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The two franchise cornerstones who were drafted on the same day in 2012 now depart Seattle on the same day 10 years later.

In releasing Wagner, the Seahawks are moving on from their longtime defensive captain and another player who was among the most impactful in franchise history.

The move will save the Seahawks $16.6 million in cash and salary cap space while leaving a massive hole in the middle of their defense. And it comes as no surprise given Wagner's contract, age (he'll be 32 in June), and the noncommittal comments coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider made at last week's scouting combine.

Wagner himself wondered aloud about his future as the Seahawks were winding down a disappointing 7-10 season that led to several changes on Carroll's coaching staff. Among them was the firing of defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., Wagner's former position coach and one of his strongest supporters in the organization.

It's not clear whether a return to Seattle on a less expensive deal is in play.

For now, only defensive end Benson Mayowa — who left Seattle and returned in 2020 — remains from the 2013 Seahawks team that won Super Bowl XLVIII. Wagner, selected with Wilson on the second day of the 2012 draft, was the last remaining member of the star-studded defenses that led Seattle to its lone world championship and a return trip to Super Bowl XLIX after the 2014 season.

Wagner,