Rams' Eric Weddle expected to return to retirement after Super Bowl

The playoff run Eric Weddle is currently on with the Rams has certainly been noteworthy, but it won’t be a jumping-off point for a return to the NFL full time. As NFL.com’s Kevin Patra writes, the veteran safety plans to return to his retirement after Super Bowl LVI.

The 37-year-old signed with the Rams prior to the postseason to take one more shot at a Super Bowl title. With starter Jordan Fuller out for the remainder of the campaign, there was a opening for the 13-year veteran in the secondary. After only playing 19 snaps in the Rams’ wild-card win, his workload saw a sharp increase the following week. During this past Sunday’s NFC Championship Game win, Weddle played every defensive snap and led the team in tackles.

“It’s amazing to be able to understand that and know that I don’t have to save myself for next season, 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, giving it everything I got” he said. “After this Super Bowl, I move on and go back to my old life and there will be no comebacks“.

A member of the All-Decade Team for the 2010s, Weddle is only missing a Super Bowl ring to complete an illustrious career. Always known as one of the smartest players in the league, he showed signs of slowing down during his third and final year with the Ravens in 2018. That led many to believe the 2019 season – in which he returned home to play with the Rams – would be his last, as it appeared to be, given his retirement at the end of the year. While he has since returned, we now know that his "mini-comeback" will end next Sunday, regardless of the game’s outcome.