As a Super Bowl-winning middle linebacker, London Fletcher can appreciate the career that Bobby Wagner has had in the NFL – and as one who has played in DC, Fletch can definitely appreciate the leadership Wagner has brought to the 2024 Commanders.
Wagner may not be the same athlete as the guy who perennially led the NFL in tackles – although, to be fair, his career highs in sacks and combined tackles came in 2022 and 2023, respectively – but he knows the system and knows how to be a pro, and as the quarterback of this defense, Fletcher thinks he’s just what the Commanders needed.
“It’s about the way he prepares; the way he trains in the offseason, his preparation during the week, and then going into the game,” Fletcher told Chris Russell & Doc Walker Monday. “He knows he’s the tone-setter for the defense, and when I saw them sign Bobby, immediately I was loving him from a leadership standpoint, obviously a championship pedigree, but also he was still playing at a high level. That’s what people didn't necessarily make as big of a deal about, but when we played him out in Seattle last year, he was all over the football field against us. Bobby takes great care of himself, does a great job with his routine throughout the week, and he could continue to play at a high level for a few more years.”
Fletcher, similarly to Wagner, won his lone Super Bowl as a second-year player and then led the league in tackles in what was the 13th season of a 15-year career, so their arcs are very similar – and as Fletch said, he thinks Wagner can be a leader and a productive player for years to come, and the first drive of Sunday’s game showed why.
“He probably knew he had to be the tone-setter for the defense, and I think on the Bucs’ first run play, he smacked Bucky Irving,” Fletcher said. “They met at the line of scrimmage, and then he ran him over on the blitz a couple of plays later, so he set a physical tone on the defense. The way they played the run in that first half, that was key to them winning.”
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