Tag: Eric Weddle

Look: Andrew Whitworth and Eric Weddle visit Rams training camp

The Rams had a couple of visitors at training camp on Monday and one of them thinks LA is in for “a big season”

Holding training camp in Los Angeles makes it easy for the stars to come out to Rams practice and on Monday, the team had a couple of visitors on the field. Andrew Whitworth and Eric Weddle, who each won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams in 2021, were out at practice hanging out with their former coaches and teammates.

Whitworth has remained close to the organization since retiring after the 2021 season, while Weddle also has a relationship with Sean McVay and several others in the Rams’ building.

The Rams shared a photo of Whitworth with Cooper Kupp and McVay, with the big man calling those two his family.

Weddle also shared a couple of photos from Rams camp, including a selfie with McVay. The former safety didn’t just watch practice, either. He sat in on meetings, while also saying the Rams are in for “a big season.

They may not be coaches, but having two studs like Whitworth and Weddle around can only help the team. It’s also a testament to the culture McVay has built in L.A. where former players are always coming around and keeping in close contact with the team.

Former Chargers GM A.J. Smith dies at 75

A.J. Smith was the winningest GM in the franchise’s history with 98 wins during his tenure.

Former Chargers general manager A.J. Smith died on Sunday, according to Smith’s son, Kyle, who is the assistant GM for the Falcons.

Smith, who was 75, battled prostate cancer for the past seven years.

Smith served as the Bolts’ director of pro personnel/assistant general manager in 2001, the year they drafted Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson and quarterback Drew Brees.

Smith was promoted to general manager in 2003, and was in that role until 2012.

While Smith was the Chargers’ GM, he selected Eli Manning first overall in the 2004 NFL draft, despite Manning saying he would not play for the team. He was traded to the Giants for Philip Rivers, who had a long successful pro career.

Other successful Chargers players Smith drafted included Shawne Merriman, Vincent Jackson, Darren Sproles, Antonio Cromartie, and Eric Weddle.

Smith went on to be the winningest GM in the franchise’s history with 98 wins during his tenure.

After being let go of, Smith worked for Washington as a consultant before retiring in 2015. His career in the league began as a scout for several teams and he spent 15 years working as an executive for the Bills.

Former Ravens S Tony Jefferson retiring from NFL, joining Baltimore in new role

Former Baltimore Ravens safety Tony Jefferson is retiring from the NFL.

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The Baltimore Ravens have had a lot of great safeties over the course of their franchise history. Players such as Rod Woodson, Ed Reed, Eric Weddle and others come to mind, with other contributors at the position also stepping up in a big way both on and off of the field.

One of the more beloved players in team history is former Baltimore safety Tony Jefferson. On Thursday, it was reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN and later confirmed by the Ravens that Jefferson will be stepping away from playing in the NFL after nine seasons, but will be returning to Baltimore to take on a scouting role within the organization.

The veteran was paired with Weddle to form a great tandem for the Ravens.  Unfortunate injuries were a part of his story in Baltimore, but he’ll now take the next step in his football career in the team’s front office.

Best Chargers draft pick by year since 2000

Taking a look at the best draft pick by each year for the Chargers over the past couple of decades.

The Chargers have seen a slew of top players roll through the franchise over the past couple of decades.

With the draft just a month away, let’s take a look at the best picks for the Bolts since 2000:

Melvin Gordon pulled an Eric Weddle and won a Super Bowl as a late Chiefs roster add

Life is good for Melvin Gordon.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Melvin Gordon was living the good life after his team beat the Philadelphia Eagles and won Super Bowl 57 on Sunday.

Consider his season trajectory. Gordon started the year on the hapless Denver Broncos. He rushed for 318 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with 223 yards in the air in 10 games this past fall.

Denver was one of those teams few people wanted to be a part of this season, which is part of why Gordon getting waived after a fumble by the Broncos in November wound up working out in his favor.

Gordon signed with Kansas City’s practice squad in late November and now gets to celebrate a Super Bowl victory.

You could say Gordon pulled an Eric Weddle. The two were teammates for a year in San Diego with the Chargers and eventually found greener pastures. Weddle unretired last January for the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl run.

It’s impressive to win a Super Bowl without having to play a down for the team you won it with, but for Gordon, it’s all the same.

He’s had an impressive career in his own right, and now he gets to add a Lombardi to his list of accomplishments.

DJ Reader, Bengals fans pounce on Eric Weddle after brutal playoff prediction

Everyone hit up Eric Weddle to let him know how wrong he was.

Cincinnati Bengals players and fans have found plenty of outside things to focus on for extra motivation as they make another deep playoff run.

Former NFL pro Eric Weddle is one of those.

Weddle appeared on a show during the week before the divisional round of the playoffs and said the Bengals had no chance at beating the Buffalo Bills.

They did have a chance, of course, and actually went on the road in the snow and dominated all four quarters in a 27-10 triumph to advance to their second straight AFC title game.

Understandably, Weddle was a topic of conversation after the game, with DJ Reader, Andrew Whitworth and others letting him know about the big whiff on the prediction.

Eric Weddle helping Giants safety Xavier McKinney grow as a play-caller

New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale leaned on Eric Weddle this offseason to help Xavier McKinney grow as a signal caller.

Over the first three days of training camp practice, one glaring change has stood out for Wink Martindale’s New York Giants defense: safety Xavier McKinney calling some plays.

Traditionally, NFL teams have a middle linebacker or inside linebacker relay the play call. However, with Blake Martinez still working his way back from a torn ACL, it’s McKinney’s helmet that sports the green dot.

Head coach Brian Daboll acknowledged as much on Friday and even said that he had McKinney call some of the defensive plays himself.

“I think signal callers, X and Daniel (Jones), they’re relaying plays in at times to the players. Just put them on the other end of it, I think there’s some friendly competition fire there and the guys get a kick out of it,” Daboll told reporters.

The team took an added step when it came to McKinney calling the plays, setting him up with retired safety Eric Weddle this offseason.

“I actually talked to Eric Weddle a couple times during the offseason. He helped me a lot actually with just kind of how to disguise certain things and how to be on the same page with Wink, and things like that,” McKinney said. “We had good convo. He really helped me out in terms of looking at film, studying film, how he did it when he had Wink, so he was really helpful. That’s what I mean by still trying to learn it and get stuff down pat.”

Weddle, of course, called plays for Martindale during his time with the Baltimore Ravens and the defensive coordinator figured he could impart some wisdom on the Giants’ third-year safety.

To further prepare both McKinney and Jones, Daboll had the headsets of Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka cut off at times. It forced both to adjust on the fly and lead their respective units without the aid of a coach.

“We’ll have the walkie talkies or headsets out there for our players and there will be times — and I did it in the spring — where I will purposely cut them off on Wink and Kafta because it could happen in a game like that and now they have to take control and be able to operate and not panic and all the hand gestures,” Daboll said. “Just go out and make sure you have a play all in mind and be able to lead the team.”

McKinney, who made and relayed calls at Alabama, likes the added responsibility.

“It was cool,” McKinney said, admitting he could have made better calls. “It was fun, though.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the Giants handle communication once Martinez is back in full, but early indications are that the job will belong to McKinney.

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Giants call upon Eric Weddle to help Xavier McKinney with green-dot duties

The Giants called upon former Rams safety Eric Weddle to help Xavier McKinney get a grasp of wearing the green dot

Eric Weddle is one of the smartest safeties to ever suit up in the NFL, which was on full display with the Chargers, Ravens and Rams. There’s no better example of his football intelligence than what he accomplished last postseason with the Rams, though.

He came out of nearly a two-year retirement and not only played well on defense during the playoffs, but he became a full-time starter and was the defensive signal caller in the Super Bowl.

The green dot is typically reserved for middle linebackers, but more and more safeties have taken on that role lately – and Xavier McKinney is doing that for the Giants. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale put McKinney in touch with Weddle to help him learn what goes into that job, using the former Rams safety to help the young Giants defender.

Weddle is a perfect person for a young safety to learn from, not only when it comes to relaying play calls, but seeing the field, breaking on the ball and understanding what the offense is trying to do.

McKinney is in good hands with Weddle helping him out.

New Ravens S Marcus Williams shares what Eric Weddle told him about Baltimore

New Ravens safety Marcus Williams explained what former safety Eric Weddle told him about the organization

The Baltimore Ravens signed safety Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70 million contract in the early stages of free agency. He brings his ballhawking and hard-hitting abilities to the team, who have been missing a true center field presence in their secondary since safety Earl Thomas III departed.

Williams had his introductory press conference with the media, and was asked if he had a relationship with former Baltimore safety Eric Weddle, who went to the University of Utah, the same as Williams. The Ravens’ new star said that Weddle texted him about the Baltimore organization and had nothing but great things to say.

“Man, Eric [Weddle] is definitely somebody I’ve watched a lot. He texted me the other day, and he was like, this is one of the best organizations he’s played with. He said it’s definitely somewhere I want to be, it’s somewhere that’s going to help elevate my game, because I have a lot more to do. I’m barely getting started in my game right now, and I feel like I haven’t even reached my full potential. So, I feel like here is going to help elevate my game way more, and I’ll be able to do a lot more here with the help of the coaches.”

Former Ravens S Eric Weddle to become high school football coach

Former Ravens safety Eric Weddle will be the head coach for Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego at the end of the 2022 season

Former Baltimore Ravens safety Eric Weddle has had an impressive few months. He made a surprise return to the NFL when he came out of retirement in January to help the Los Angeles Rams pursue and win a Lombardi Trophy. After confetti fell on the field at SoFi Stadium, Weddle went back into retirement. However, the longtime defensive back will return to the game of football, just not for an NFL team or as a player.

On Saturday, Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego announced via Facebook that Weddle would replace head coach Tristan McCoy at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

This isn’t Weddle’s first-time mentoring the high school squad. Weddle had been working as an assistant for the Rancho Bernardo’s 12-and-under team.

Weddle played for the then San Diego Chargers for eight seasons before coming to Baltimore in 2016. He would then go to the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 before retiring at the end of the year.