Bobby Wagner adds star power to Rams, intrigue to Seahawks rivalry – Los Angeles Rams Blog

As All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner remained unsigned more than three weeks after his release from the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams looked like a fit that made too much sense to not happen.

Consider all the reasons why Wagner and the Rams were a match made in Hollywood:

For starters, the Rams need to get better at inside linebacker, one of the few lean spots on an otherwise strong defense that helped them win Super Bowl LVI. They built that championship roster by acquiring one big name after another — a necessary approach for a team still trying to build its fledgling fan base in a city that only cares about stars — and had lost one of them when Von Miller signed with the Buffalo Bills.

Despite Miller’s departure and some other free-agent losses, the Rams still look like one of the favorites in the NFC and arguably give Wagner his best chance at winning a second Super Bowl to go with the one he won in Seattle in 2013.

They also give him the chance to return home — or at least close to it. Wagner, a dyed-in-the-wool Los Angeles Lakers fan, grew up about 50 miles east of SoFi Stadium in Ontario, California.

And the Rams give Wagner one more thing that neither the Baltimore Ravens nor Dallas Cowboys nor most other teams that might have been interested in him could have: a chance to stay in the NFC West.

If getting to play the Seahawks twice a year wasn’t a factor in Wagner choosing the reigning Super Bowl champions, then it’s a nice cherry on top of the five-year, $50 million deal that he negotiated himself.

Given the way his time in Seattle ended, it would be naive to think otherwise.

Wagner felt disrespected by the way the Seahawks handled his release, expressing his indignation both on Twitter and in private. It remained even…