Now entering the final year of his current contract, Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner has seen first-hand how NFL teams conduct business.

Injuries forced Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor, and Doug Baldwin into early retirements and all were eventually released. Disgruntled “Legion of Boom” members Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas no longer patrol the secondary and have changed zip codes. Key reserves such as Malcolm Smith and Byron Maxwell left for big paychecks elsewhere.

With only three players remaining on the roster from Seattle’s Super Bowl XLIX appearance, who could blame Wagner for wondering if he could be the next high-profile star to change teams?

Preparing for 2019 to be his final season as a Seahawk, Wagner began jockeying for a new deal last week by reporting for offseason team activities and choosing not to participate in drill work until a resolution has been reached. He’s made no secret about his intentions to become the highest-paid linebacker in football, exceeding C.J. Mosley’s deal with the Jets from March that pays out an average of $17 million per year.

Following the decision to trade Frank Clark to the Chiefs, there’s plenty of money available for general manager John Schneider and the front office to meet those demands. According to OverTheCap.com, the Seahawks currently have nearly $24 million in available cap space, affording the franchise more than enough financial flexibility to retain one of their few remaining cornerstones from their two Super Bowl squads.

While it may seem unfathomable Seattle would actually let Wagner depart after this season, however, past choices make such a move far from impossible.

As illustrated by numerous choices such as letting Thomas leave and shipping Clark out of town, Seattle hasn’t been afraid to move on from stars if they exceed a certain price point. And after seeing Chancellor’s career come to an abrupt end and trading Michael Bennett during the midst of their respective third contracts, the organization may be hesitant to give an aging linebacker another mega deal.

Still, aside from the fact he’s arguably the best in the world at playing linebacker in the NFL right now, if there’s a reason to truly be optimistic about Wagner remaining in Seattle, it’s his tight bond with teammate K.J. Wright.

Wright battled injuries throughout the 2018 season, missing 11 regular season games with lingering knee issues before returning in mid-December and suiting up for the playoffs. Set to turn 30 years old in July and coming off his worst professional season, many anticipated Seattle would allow him to leave as a free agent in March.

Instead, the Seahawks rewarded Wright for years of stellar, if not criminally underrated, production with a new two-year contract worth up to $14 million.

Based on his comments to reporters following last Tuesday’s OTA session, Wagner couldn’t be happier to see his teammate and close friend resume his career in the Pacific Northwest.

“Since I got here, he’s been one of the guys that has helped me grow into the player that I became and when we first get into the league, you think about getting to that second deal, a lot of guys don’t make it to the third.” Wagner said. “So to see him make it to his third deal and see what he’s able to do for his family and the financial freedom that he’s going to have moving forward, life out of football, is amazing.”

Such a development may not seem important as Wagner negotiates his own new deal, but by choosing to re-sign Wright, Seattle certainly helped its cause trying to lock up its perennial All-Pro linebacker to continue dominating beside him at the second level.

While Thomas, Sherman, and Chancellor received most of the fanfare, Wagner and Wright have been beacons of consistency and reliability in the middle of Seattle’s defense. As far as linebacking duos are concerned, there may not be a better one from this era.

Since entering the league as a second-round pick out of Utah State, Wagner has played his entire seven-year career alongside Wright, forming one of the league’s best linebacker tandems. During that span, the two standouts have combined to record nearly 1,700 tackles, 26 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 91 tackles for loss while appearing in six total Pro Bowls.

After seeing so many teammates come and go in recent years, it had to be refreshing for Wagner to see the Seahawks take care of one of their own veteran players, especially one who had such a strong influence on his development as they have gone to battle together for close to decade.

Re-signing another player isn’t going to automatically make Wagner sign the dotted line and he’s not going to be shorted financially. As he repeated multiple times last week, he knows what he’s worth, and if the Seahawks won’t pay what he wants, he’ll have no issue getting paid by another team.

Negotiations will remain challenging, especially after New York inexplicably broke the bank to sign Mosley.

But as Wagner prepares to represent himself in contract discussions, he should have greater faith in both sides being able to strike a deal after seeing Wright return for a ninth season. Relationships matter and there’s no doubt each player would cherish the opportunity to finish their respective careers together in Seattle.