Seahawks' Wagner looking to top Mosley's $17M average salary

The Seattle Seahawks' Bobby Wagner is eyeing a record average salary among inside linebackers on his next contract, north of the $17 million that C.J. Mosley recently received from the New York Jets.

"That's the top (of the) linebacker market. That is the standard. And so that is the plan, to break that," Wagner said Tuesday, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.

Wagner, widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier inside linebackers, has one season remaining on his deal with Seattle. He's representing himself in contract negotiations.

Mosley secured a five-year, $85-million deal in free agency, making him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history by average salary. At the moment, Wagner earns the fourth-highest salary among players at his position.

Top five average salaries for inside linebackers

Wagner is present at voluntary organized team activities, but the five-time Pro Bowler isn't practicing to avoid a potential injury sans the security of a long-term deal.

"It's a very tough thing to go through," Wagner said of his contract status. "You don't know necessarily know how to handle it. You've got guys who hold out and you just take the situation that we had last year, you had a guy that held out, came back, got hurt (Earl Thomas). ... So it's a tricky situation and this is a business. You get hurt, they don’t pay you, so you've got to be mindful of that."

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll expressed optimism that an extension for Wagner will get hammered out at some point.

"Bobby has been great, everything is going to come together in time," Carroll said. " ... Everything is in order, we are in order with what we want to do and it feels very comfortable and very amicable and all that, so everything is going just right."

Wagner collected 138 tackles, an interception, and a sack last year, helping the Seahawks return to the postseason following a one-year absence. He's racked up over 100 tackles in each of his seven NFL seasons.