'You can't make this up': How 37-year-old Eric Weddle went from retired to expected Super Bowl starter

 

Los Angeles Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey saw the text pop up on his phone the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 11.

“Call me,” Ramsey’s former teammate, 13-year NFL safety Eric Weddle, had messaged.

Ramsey glanced nervously at what was now three Weddle messages he hadn’t returned. Did a lecture await, another reminder of which tight end route he’d covered too leniently or which technique he hadn’t executed to standard?

“It was not what I was expecting,” Ramsey said. “It was like, ‘Oh, that’s what you want to talk about? Let’s go.’”

Ramsey was among a Southern California contingent whom the 37-year-old Weddle surprised that Tuesday afternoon when the Rams asked Weddle, who played for them in 2019 before retiring, to return to help chase a Super Bowl run. Rams safety Taylor Rapp had suffered a concussion; fellow safety Jordan Fuller had sustained a season-ending ankle injury in the regular-season finale. The Rams sought depth from a player whose fitness and capacity for playbook mastery were sufficient to suit up six days later.

Or as Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris had posed the question: “You’re not fat and out of shape, are you?”

Three games, 131 snaps and 13 tackles, including a key fourth-quarter tackle for loss later, Weddle has shown the Rams and NFL he isn’t. He’s helped Ramsey lead the Los Angeles defense to a Super Bowl berth, contagious energy and sharp film study lifting his own play — and that of the entire Rams defensive unit.

Family, friends and teammates describe Weddle’s improbable unretirement as simultaneously a dream they can’t believe and a stars-aligning-perfectly moment that’s utterly expected from the physically and mentally toughest person they know. As the biggest stage awaits, Weddle is leaning in.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” he said. “You can’t make this up.”

OPINION:Odell Beckham Jr. is right to dismiss doubters, Super Bowl redemption narrative

MORE:Rams QB Matthew Stafford credits Lions for helping prepare him for Super Bowl stage

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reports: Ukraine bans all male citizens ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country

The  Ukraine S tate Border Guard Service has announced that men ages 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving the country, according to reports . Thursday's action came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 's declaration of  martial law across the country after Russia invaded Ukraine and attacked major cities, including the capital, Kyiv.  "In particular, it is forbidden for men aged 18-60, Ukraine citizens, to leave the borders of Ukraine," a statement from the service said, according to CNN . "This regulation will remain in effect for the period of the legal regime of martial law. We ask the citizens to take this information into consideration." Under martial law, military officials  are in charge of applying law and not civilian leaders or police. It is usually invoked in times of war when  the rule of law has broken down. It's really an alien concept': Ukraine's president declared martial law after Russia's attack. But what is i...
Read more

Michael Jordan’s “Broken Foot Game” Air Jordan 1s Sell For $422,130

Image
A pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn Air Jordans from an unfortunate time in his career have a new owner and the price tag to acquire them was steep. Player issued Air Jordan 1s believed to have been worn by Jordan during a game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 29, 1985 recently sold for $422,130 through auction house Lelands . The date of that game is significant because it’s when Jordan suffered a fractured bone in his left foot, causing him to miss six months of action and derailing his sophomore season. Lelands obtained the sneakers from a consignor whose father was gifted the game-worn sneakers personally from Jordan at the time. The pair comes in Jordan’s famously mismatched size 13 (left) and 13 ½ (right), and features “850102-TYPS” stamping along the interior linings. Because of the shoe’s production midway through the 1984-85 season, there’s speculation that Jordan may have also worn these at some point in his rookie campaign, but that has...
Read more