Wagner will be at OTA Seattle, but will not train

RENTON, Wash. – Bobby Wagner is present for the Seattle Seahawks' out-of-season volunteer program, but he does not practice because he is waiting for an extension which, he hopes, will make him the NFL's highest paid linebacker.

"As a leader, you want to send the right message," said Wagner on Tuesday. "You want to be here to support the guys, I really think a quarter of the defense is pretty important, so not having this piece would be a bit of a mess, I just think it's important for our success and that I'm here. "

Wagner, four-time All-Pro and Seahawks defensive captain, said he would continue to participate in off-season work without training. He is not hurt; he simply does not want to risk being hurt while his contract situation is disrupted after seeing this happen last year to his teammates Earl Thomas (who has held the entire off season) and KJ Wright ( who does not have) in their contract seasons. Wagner said he "will be here to help young guys and do everything I can," which was the case Tuesday, as he watched the Seahawks hold their second organized team event.

He said his participation would not include any field work.

"No, I'll be here," he says. "That's all I'll be, it's here."

Head Coach Pete Carroll seemed to be going well with Wagner's approach. Recently, other Seahawks, in addition to Thomas – Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett and Marshawn Lynch, to name just a few – have stayed away from the team for part or all of the off-season because of their contracts.

"He's doing what he's always done – he's been a leader," Carroll said of Wagner. "He's part and parcel of everything we've known, and the decision to do what he's doing at this rate is a good decision for him right now."

Wagner, who represents himself in negotiations as he enters the final year of his contract, said he wanted to reach an agreement before the season. He declined to say where things were, saying he alone had had conversations with the team.

"I'm not trying to turn this into a dramatic drama," he said. "… it's a bargain, if it works, it works, otherwise it's cool."

Wagner, who was previously represented by Athletes First, said he wanted to represent himself even before seeing his former Seahawks teammates, Richard Sherman and Russell Okung, separate from their agents and make likewise. He refuted the idea that he would have had a new contract now if he still had an agent, noting that his $ 43 million extension for four years that he had signed in 2015 It was only done in early August.

He knows that managing his own negotiations with General Manager John Schneider and Cape Guru Matt Thomas will mean having direct and candid conversations that an agent would otherwise filter. When asked in April what it's like working with players acting as agents – as the Seahawks did with Sherman and Okung – Schneider called these conversations "badly". necessary "and stated that even when an agent is there to stamp, the two sides hardly ever go out of a negotiation feeling good.

"In the end, my representation should not be a big problem," Wagner said. "They should see this as another transaction, I think a lot of people are afraid to say things and I can accept criticism, it's part of the game, you have to be able to take criticism, and at the end of the day you want the person to say what you feel in front of someone else .. I do not need a third party. "

Carroll also downplayed the difficulty of working with a player who is his own agent. At the owners' meetings held in March, he said he was confident that an agreement with Wagner would be reached and again on Tuesday.

"We are in tune with the process," he said. "Bobby has been great, everything is going to happen in time, everything is in order, we are in agreement with what we want to do, it is very comfortable and very friendly, and all that. well."

But Wagner's situation is further complicated by the $ 85 million deal signed in March by C.J. Mosley with the New York Jets, which blew up the $ 17-million-a-year domestic subaltern market. Mosley, 26, has competed in the Pro Bowl four of his five seasons in the NFL, but has not yet formed the All-Pro team. Wagner, who turns 29 in June, has a much better resume with five consecutive Pro Bowl games, while being named four times in the first All-Pro team. He has beaten more than 100 tackles each season since the second round of Seattle in 2012 and, according to the ESPN map, he leads the NFL in tackles over the past five seasons with 656.

"I mean, the number is the number," Wagner said in response to a question about Mosley's contract. "The market is the market, it's the main linebacker market, so that's the norm, so it's the plan, break the barracks."

Wagner added, "I know my value, no one can tell me my value, I know my value, no team, no person, no agent can tell me my value, I believe in myself, I will bet on myself. Even for me, it's a win.You get a contract, you win.This is not a learning experience, so you win.Many people do not want to take that chance. I'm. "

Wagner was asked about his recent comments to the NFL network, which he is preparing as if this season would be his last in Seattle.

"At the present time, my contract ends this year, so that's where it is," he said. "I respect the contract, I'm here, I participate, I help young guys to be the best possible, so I'm here and that's what I want to do." "It's my decision So, for the moment, I do not have a year left, so it's a very honest opinion that if I do not make a deal, that's all, but I think something can happen. "