In systems and methods of reducing wireless communication signaling overhead, it is determined that communication resource request traffic from a plurality of wireless devices in communication with an access node to communicate with a communication network meets a first threshold. One of the plurality of wireless devices is selected to operate as a router wireless device based on a power storage level and an assigned modulation and coding scheme of each of the plurality of wireless devices. At least one of the unselected wireless devices is instructed to communicate with the communication network via the selected router wireless device.