New Baltimore Ravens safety Eric Weddle harbors very ill feelings about how things ended with the San Diego Chargers after nine great seasons with the team.
Explaining how dedicated he was to the team, Weddle still isn’t clear about what led to the Chargers no longer wanting him around, per Dan Pompei of the Bleacher Report.
“I was a leader, a captain, an All-Pro. And they showed me the door. I’m as loyal as anyone and will do anything for people I respect,” Weddle said. “But if you don’t give that back to me in return, you’re dead to me. So I could never go back to that place after what they put me through.”
Per the report, Weddle realized the exact moment when he would no longer be playing with the Chargers in 2016. He and quarterback Philip Rivers were sitting in the hot tub the day after the 2015 season had finished. Once they were the only two left in the facility, Weddle recalled the following conversation that occurred when coach Mike McCoy entered the room.
“What are you guys still doing here?” McCoy said, according to Weddle.
“We’re figuring out the roster for next year,” Weddle said. “And you have a lot of work to do.”
Then McCoy surprised him.
“Where are you going to go next year?” he said. “Any particular team you want to go to?”
Weddle didn’t know what to say.
“That’s when it finally hit me,” he says. “They really don’t want me back.“
Things went icy between Weddle and the Chargers late last season when the team didn’t permit him to travel to play its final game against the Denver Broncos. Weddle was also slapped with a big fine for basically being a good dad when he stayed on the field at halftime to watch his daughter perform in Week 16.
Though, prior to the treatment Weddle endured at the end of the season, he recalled a comment that Chargers general manager Tom Telesco had in April of 2015. In short, the executive indicated that Weddle himself had “a lot of mileage” on those tires.
Furthermore, Weddle said that Telesco didn’t believe in giving big contracts to players who are not Hall of Fame quality.
During Weddle’s nine seasons with the Chargers, he was selected to three Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro twice. He now arrives to the Ravens after recording 19 interceptions, six fumble recoveries, 6.5 sacks, and 848 combined tackles with San Diego.
This represents the final chapter in what was often an up-and-down relationship between Weddle and the Chargers.