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Unhappy Weddle skips Chargers' workouts
Eric Weddle spoke immediately after working out Monday afternoon, still sweaty, a protein drink in hand.
He was not at Chargers Park. He was at a gym near his home.
The Chargers’ free safety, unhappy the team has not engaged in talks about a contract extension, skipped the first voluntary workout of the offseason and seems inclined to stay away from the facility for an extended period.
"I feel highly, highly disrespected," Weddle said. "... It is what it is, but there is no reason for me to put out any more effort."
Weddle, coming off his second first-team All-Pro season, said he does not know when (or if) he will join the team for offseason workouts. It seems unlikely.
And that is extraordinary.
The conditioning and coaching sessions are voluntary, but Weddle has been as consistent a participant in previous offseason as he has been during the season.
A defensive captain the past four years and the Chargers’ Defensive Player of the Year three of the past four seasons, Weddle has played in 80 consecutive games. Working next to nine different strong safeties, he has played 99 percent of the Chargers’ defensive snaps in that five-year span, plus 60 percent of special teams snaps.
That he is missing time with his teammates and coaches is big.
“It is,” he said. “I've never missed a day in my life. I've given so much.”
That’s the thing. Weddle is a prideful man. It’s a huge part of who he is, of how he became one of the game’s best safeties. It explains his extreme reaction to his belief the Chargers don’t want him to be a part of their family as long as he wants to be.
He knows he’ll sign with another team for a lot of money if that is what it comes to, but he said numerous times on Monday, “I want to retire a Charger.”
For the second straight offseason, Weddle’s agent approached the Chargers suggesting the sides talk about reworking Weddle's deal. The thinking was that the team could get cap relief while Weddle got long-term security.
This year, with his contract set to expire after the 2015 season, Weddle said it took a lot of effort to even get a dialogue going with the team and that agent David Canter was told an extension for Weddle was not a priority.
“We've come to them numerous times and said we want to be part of the team, we want to retire as a Charger,” Weddle said. “We've completely gotten pushed aside.”
And so, he is sitting out the offseason program, "letting them know I'm not very happy."
That it has reached this point is almost mind-boggling.
Canter said he has no desire to negotiate a deal in the media. However, he said, the Chargers should know how unhappy his client is and “to be at this level, where we are right now, is very disconcerting.”
It should not have gotten to this point. But it has. And it can be fixed. This could end up being just an unpleasant part of doing business, a bump in the road to ultimate agreement.
This would not be a difficult negotiation. Weddle is not asking to be the highest-paid safety, just something among the top three or four. He will be 31 after the season, but he had arguably his strongest season just before turning 30. It will not be pretty so this young defense try to coalesce without his on-field organization.
If the Chargers were to initiate talks, Weddle said he could move forward.
"We want to get something done," he said. “… I started something here. I've worked extremely hard to build something here. I don't want to go win a championship somewhere else.”
He shouldn't have to. But it seems the Chargers are intent on letting that happen.
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