Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner on tweet to Earl Thomas: ‘I’m man enough to admit I handled the situation wrong’

Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner opened his press conference Wednesday with an admission.

Before reporters asked a question, the veteran linebacker stood at the podium and addressed a tweet he posted after Sunday’s devastating 42-7 loss to the Rams. Wagner’s tweet – which was later deleted – was directed at Seahawks teammate Earl Thomas, who said Wagner shouldn’t have played the game with his hamstring injury and may have waited too long to remove himself from the game. The interaction almost immediately stirred up stories of locker room discord.

Seahawks’ Earl Thomas: Wagner shouldn’t have played vs Rams

“It’s funny, I was listening to a Kevin Hart interview last week, and in the interview he was talking about the way he handles issues – he likes to face them head on, don’t want to run from them,” Wagner said. “Pretty sure you all are going to ask, so in regards to what happened: Do I feel like I mishandled the situation? Yeah, there was a better way of going about the situation. I could’ve done better. It’s one of those things where you live and you learn, and that’s kind of what it is.”

Wagner said emotions were running high after the game, but acknowledged that was no excuse for his comment.

“It was a frustrating game, a frustrating situation, and emotions get high. … Everybody has emotions, and you can’t always act on them. I’m man enough to admit that I handled the situation wrong and I will do better moving forward.”

Wagner said the two had spoken since then and “ironed things out,” and that the team remains focused on getting a win against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday.

A hamstring injury caused Wagner to miss a week’s worth of practice heading into Seattle’s Week 15 loss. This week, though, he should get some more work in (along with linebacker K.J. Wright, who missed last week with a concussion).

Wagner said his pregame warm up didn’t feel any different last Sunday than any other game he’s played through. However, unlike in other weeks, the pain from the hamstring never went away as the game progressed. He also said he felt he was lacking burst in his movements.

Wagner said that he’d do the same thing if faced with the challenge again, though.

“I would. Because I’m a fighter; I love this team, I love this game, and I want to be out there. I want to be out there to help, and I felt like I could. It’s not something that I would do differently. I would just make sure I adjust my alignments a little bit more so I can make some plays.”

The Seahawks will need a healthy Wright and Wagner as they prepare to face a Cowboys offense led by running back Ezekiel Elliott, who will make his first return to action since serving a six-week suspension.

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