Safety Eric Weddle is hoping to finish out the last year of his contract with the Ravens in 2019. But, if the Ravens won’t have him back, he says he’ll just retire and “ride off into sunset,” (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun). 
Weddle, 34, came to the Ravens in 2016 after he parted ways with the Chargers. His identity was largely intertwined with the Bolts, but he quickly found a fit in Baltimore and, apparently, can’t envision himself playing anywhere else.
Weddle earned his sixth career Pro Bowl nod this year and his age hasn’t slowed him down much, so it would only make sense for the Ravens to want him back. The vet finished out with 68 total tackles, three passes defensed, and graded out at Pro Football Focus’ No. 17 ranked safety in the entire NFL.
For now, Weddle is set to return at a cap figure of $9.25MM. Should the Ravens release him, they’ll save $7.5MM versus just $1.75MM in dead money.
Retire from the Ratbirds.
Don’t know why they wouldn’t want him back. He’s a really good safety and not very expensive. He’s also a team first guy who is great with the fans.
He is getting a little older and isn’t the most athletic player at his position. They might think they can use that money elsewhere but I don’t think Weddle can be replaced in-house at this point. He’s way too valuable to this defense and is one of the true leaders in football. I’d love to see him back in Baltimore.
Highly overrated!! Hope he is released.
You gotta love when people don’t know what they’re talking about 17th ranked safety out of 64 but he’s overrated alright bud.
They don’t really watch football they just talk
Bottom line misses too many tackles that have cost games. Just saying overrated for the money!
There are so many safeties in the league who are worse at open field tackling though. And he’s tied for 15th in salary at safety this year (next year’s salary is higher than this years though). If he’s ranked 17th out of 64 safeties for this season his pay seems about spot on. When you factor in his leadership and how he commanded the defense and helped that secondary become one of the best in the league, I think Weddle is underrated for that money. If he doesn’t come back to play I hope he comes back as a coach for us at least.
As a Ravens fan I don’t give a crap other safeties. His missed tackles have cost us multiple games during his time here. Bears, Steelers and Bengals games come to mind.
How many of the 7 games they lost have you specifically attributed to Weddle?
It’s a tough decision. While his value as a leader and his instincts on the back end are a huge help he can’t keep up with WR or even tight ends anymore. I think he will finish his contract here and become a secondary coach. He is a definite fan favorite.