Eric Weddle's journey from NFL retirement to Super Bowl LVI

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

Minutes after his team’s Super Bowl-clinching win over the San Francisco 49ers last week, Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle hit the cold tub in the locker room, already preparing his 37-year-old, battered body for the biggest game of his 15-year NFL career. 

Rewind back to 23 days ago, and Weddle’s focus was on coaching his son, Gaige, and his 12-year-old tackle football team, the Rancho Bernardo Broncos (they finished 11-1 and won the championship).

Along with coaching, Weddle and wife, Chanel, had settled into a daily routine involving taxiing their four children to their various sports and activities.

Weddle said he still regularly lifted weights and played basketball in San Diego to stay in shape and keep even-keeled mentally but had no thought of returning to the field.

"I still train like a madman," he joked. "It’s just who I am." 

But after L.A.’s loss to the 49ers in the regular-season finale, Weddle received a phone call from Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, proposing the wild idea of a return to the NFL. 

Soon after, Weddle found himself headed back to the team he last played for in 2019 because of the Rams' lack of depth at defensive back. He has proven to be up to the task, learning a new defensive scheme in two days so he could play fast and still help direct traffic in L.A.’s secondary.

"Listen, I’m playing with house money, man," Weddle told the "Dave and Jeff Show" podcast. "There’s no pressure on me. There’s nothing. Everyone expected this to flop, and I’ve exceeded that — which I knew I would because I love challenges, I love proving people wrong. 

"Ninety-nine percent of the world thought it wouldn’t work, and look at where I’m at." 

So far, the return to the field has followed a Hollywood script for Weddle, including the Utah product leading the Rams in tackles with nine in L.A.’s 20-17 comeback win over San Francisco in the NFC title game.

"What he’s done, playing as many snaps as he has the last couple weeks, it’s incredible," Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters this week. "It’s remarkable. But if there was anybody that was going to be able to do it, it would be him. His knowledge of the game, his instincts, his natural toughness, his feel — all those things were on display [Sunday]. He would be the first to tell you there’s a couple things that we can clean up, but I thought he played a great game."

Dr. David Chao agrees. A former team doctor for the Chargers and current NFL injury expert, Chao said that because of the athleticism it takes to play in space, coming back to play safety at 37 years old is much tougher than a 40-year-old playing left tackle like Andrew Whitworth or a 44-year-old playing quarterback like Tom Brady.

"I was hoping for the best and rooting for him, but I will admit I had my doubts," Chao said. "Father time and the position he plays, having to change directions … when he was a player, he would always tell me he was made of steel. And I know he’s as tough as they come, but steel does rust.

"But he has overperformed. And I do think the Rams have been smart with his usage because they are kind of using him more in the box, as opposed to in space."

Chao said the key for Weddle the next two weeks will be to allow his body to recover from a tough NFC Championship Game so he can be at his best for the Super Bowl.

"Steel does rust, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot," Chao said. "I’ve worked in Super Bowls, but it wasn’t my team. And I observed all the time the magical healing powers of the extra week before the Super Bowl. That’s going to come in real handy for Eric. I think any cumulative effects on Eric will be negated by the extra time."

So how did Morris — who coached Weddle in the 2007 Senior Bowl, when he was the secondary coach for Tampa Bay — coax Weddle back on the field after a two-year absence?

"He goes, ‘You’re not fat and out of shape, are you?’" Weddle said of their conversation. "As soon as he said that, I knew what was coming next."

Added Morris: "It was an easy call and easy transition watching him throughout his potentially Hall of Fame career. And it has been a lot of fun getting a chance to coach him [again]."

Before making a decision, though, Weddle discussed a possible return to football with Chanel and their four children at their home in Poway, just north of San Diego. 

Chanel’s response? If anyone could do it, her husband could.

Asked about Gaige's reaction, Weddle said: "He basically ran and got all of his Rams stuff on. He was getting all emotional. My son’s got a big heart. And he was just so happy for me."

And so, with everyone agreed, Weddle called McVay to tell the Rams' head coach he was on board. After all, he still felt like part of the Rams because he watched every snap of his former team during the regular season and reached out to McVay a couple of times per month to talk about the season.

"Physically, I haven’t been there, but I feel like I am," Weddle said. "It’s given me a way to still be connected to the guys I’ve gotten close with — players and coaches — but also not ever feeling like I want to go back. And it’s been nice.

"But I’m not going to lie to you that there hasn’t been one moment [when I wanted to be on the team]. The only moment was Week 1 of my first year out [in 2020] against Dallas, where I saw everyone hugging up after that huge Cowboys win. And that was the only moment over the last year and half where I said, ‘Man, I wish I was there.’ I wish I was in the moment — the raw emotion, the grind and everything that goes into getting a win. 

"You just can’t replicate that outside of football." 

Before this year’s postseason run with the Rams, Weddle had not had much success in the playoffs. In his nine seasons with the Chargers and three seasons with the Ravens before joining the Rams, he made it to the AFC championship game once, with the Chargers in the 2007 postseason. 

But he has always been a cerebral thinker on the field who plays with anticipation and helps others play faster around him.

"It’s something I personally think that I needed and really wanted — another guy like that in our secondary, even if it was just for the playoffs and this stretch we’re trying to go on," said Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who considers Weddle the best safety he has played with. "So I was super excited when he called me and told me [returning] was a possibility and that he was thinking about it.

"We just have a lot of communication and are always on the same page. And that allows us to play the game within the game with each other because of our experience. We think alike and kind of have the same vision on certain things."

Weddle played 19 snaps in his first action against the Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round, then a surprising 61 of 72 defensive snaps in his first win over Tom Brady in the Rams' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round.

In the NFC Championship, Weddle started and played all 51 defensive snaps against San Francisco. His impressive play included a critical tackle for a 1-yard loss on second-and-1 from the Los Angeles 44-yard line early in the fourth quarter, which eventually led to a San Francisco punt, giving the ball back to L.A. en route to the Rams tying the game. 

"In that moment, I saw the look," Weddle told 570 AM radio in Los Angeles. "I saw the run and shot that gap. It was just nice to make some plays for the guys and make sure we won that game.

"When it came down to it, those last three drives, the defense stepped up and stood tall to the opportunities. And what better way to earn our right to the Super Bowl than beat the team that had our number these last few years?"

After that game, Weddle said his body felt like it had been in a car wreck — a harsh reminder that he had not trained for the physicality of an NFL season. But all he needs now is to be at his best for one more game. 

And if the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium is the end — as he says it is — it has been an impressive career for Weddle. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler. He has been first-team All-Pro twice and second-team All-Pro three times. He was named to the 2010 All-Decade team and has 29 career interceptions and 9.5 career sacks.

"It’s amazing to be able to understand that and know that I don’t have to save myself for next season," Weddle told AM 570 LA Sports. "I don’t have to save myself for the offseason. I didn’t have to save myself for the Super Bowl last week, knowing it wasn’t guaranteed, so I was throwing it in there and giving it everything I got.

"I don’t have anything left after this, other than going back to doing what I was doing before. After this Super Bowl, I move on and go back to my old life. And there will be no comebacks. There will not be playing another team, another game — no, no, no, no."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.