After 13 seasons as one of the NFL’s best safeties, Eric Weddle is calling it quits.
The Los Angeles Rams safety announced his decision to retire from the league Thursday afternoon in a Twitter post that thanked his teammates, coaches and supporters over his decorated NFL career, which also included stops with the then-San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens.
Weddle played in 210 career games and racked up 1,235 tackles, 30 interceptions, 103 passes defensed, 11.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and five touchdowns. He was selected for the Pro Bowl six times during his career, including all three seasons he played in Baltimore from 2016-18, and earned the distinction of All-Pro in five consecutive seasons for the Chargers — twice as a first-team pick.
Weddle also led the NFL with seven interceptions during the 2011 season in a three-way tie with Green Bay’s Charles Woodson and New England’s Kyle Arrington.
Weddle isn’t the only big name to have announced his NFL retirement this offseason with some of the more notable names including New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechley and Chargers tight end Antonio Gates — who was teammates with Weddle during all the latter’s nine seasons in San Diego.
Unexpectedly, the Rams will now have to find a replacement for Weddle’s production after he started all 16 games at free safety last season and was the team’s second-leading tackler with 108.
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