Lavonte David spent 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was named First- or Second-Team All-Pro three times, made a Pro Bowl, and got to choose the time when he retired with the only team he ever played for. Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner won't get to do that.
Wagner deserves better, but the NFL is a tough business. The Bucs never made the financial decisions that Seattle made. Tampa Bay kept bringing David back every year, for better or worse, and Seattle allowed Wagner to leave twice. Ideally, Wagner would have signed his rookie deal with the Seahawks and never left.