The Washington Commanders got to close the season playing spoiler — kind of — with a 24-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 18 that ended up costing their NFC East rivals the No. 2 seed in the NFC Playoffs.
It was cold comfort in a season that ended up being kind of a reverse Scorigami from 2024 after the Commanders finished 5-12 overall after going 12-5 one year ago.
If we are looking for one bright spot to take away from the season — no easy task — we might start with veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner. He became just the third player in NFL history with 2,000 career tackles after posting 5 tackles in the win over the Eagles to put him exactly at the 2,000 mark for his career.
Former Commanders linebacker London Fletcher (2,039) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis (2,059) are the other 2 players with 2,000 career tackles.
Fletcher was actually in attendance and came in the locker room to give Wagner the game ball following the win over the Eagles.
Wagner, who will turn 36 years old in June, is an 11-time NFL All-Pro who just finished his 14th season. It means questions about his future were front and center following the season finale.
“Bobby Wagner told reporters he has ‘not thought about anything beyond today’ when asked about his playing future,” The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala wrote on X.
Wagner played this season on a 1-year, $9 million contract, his second season with the Commanders.
Commanders Will Take Hard Look at Roster
While Wagner might want to play coy about his future, it’s ridiculous to think he would retire just 60 tackles away from breaking Lewis’ NFL career record. Wagner finished 2025 with 162 tackles — his 14th consecutive season with at least 100 tackles.
Whether Wagner comes back to the Commanders is another story entirely.
The entire Washington roster is headed for a massive reboot this offseason, on both sides of the ball, and head coach Dan Quinn will enter 2026 very firmly on the hot seat.
If there’s an evaluation process that takes out age as a factor and just judges on production, Wagner should be back for another year. According to Pro Football Focus, his 78.6 overall grade puts him eighth among 87 eligible inside linebackers and his 1,068 defensive snaps this year led the NFL.
Wagner Might Want to Play for Contender
If the most likely scenario is Wagner plays another year in order to break the NFL career tackles record, he might want to do so playing for a contender — something we can’t really call the Commanders anymore.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks Jacksonville Jaguars free agent inside linebacker Devin Lloyd might be the best replacement for Wagner.
Knox put Lloyd at No. 5 overall on his list of the Top 50 NFL free agents in the 2026 cycle and listed the Commanders as the perfect fit for the 27-year-old former first round pick.
“Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd was mostly just sort of ‘fine’ in his first three NFL seasons,” Knox wrote. “The 2022 first-round pick was a good-enough starter but didn’t regularly make wow plays. That’s changed in 2025, though, which happens to be a contract year for him. The 27-year-old has been all over the field this season, making impact plays as a run-stopper and coverage-backer. The elite athleticism that made him a first-round prospect has been on full display.”
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