Looking back at Eric Weddle and his career

Dec 14, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers free safety Eric Weddle (32) sports a white dyed beard before the game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Weddle contract controversy in the past

Weddle will be entering the final year of his contract. The contract that he signed under GM A.J. Smith worth 5 years $40 million. Check out what people were saying about Weddle’s deal when he first signed it. Let’s look back at a few tweets on that day.

i wish i could write what players are saying about the weddle deal. really, i do.

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) July 27, 2011

@BobbieL_AZ did you really expect @sdutChargers to say weddle was overpaid? again, more power to eric. but he's not an $8M/yr player. #nfl

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) July 28, 2011

#Chargers solidify a key spot by signing free safety Eric Weddle, but I'm still surprised he merits a 5-year, $40 million contract.

— Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivan714) July 27, 2011

Kevin Kolb gets a $63 million extension from AZ? Suddenly the Weddle deal doesn't look as bad. Wow.

— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) July 28, 2011

It seemed outrageous to give Weddle the deal that he received at the time. Weddle had spent 4 seasons in the league and had 4 sacks, 6 interceptions and 358 tackles before the deal. That is an average of 2 interceptions, 1 sack and 90 tackles per season.

Since signing the deal, Weddle has been selected to the first-team All-Pro team twice. He has been selected to the second-team All-Pro team twice and he has been selected to the Pro Bowl 3 times. He has averaged 103 tackles, 3 interceptions and a forced fumble per season. He totaled 2 sacks, 13 interceptions and 414 tackles in the last 4 seasons.  He has been well worth the contract that he has signed.

Now he will be up for another deal at the end of the year and the team wants to keep him till the end of his career. How much longer can Weddle play? Ed Reed played until he was 35. Charles Woodson is still playing at 38 and plans to play another season with the Raiders. Weddle should have another 4 or 5 seasons in him. Will he spend those seasons with the Chargers? Will Tom Telesco lock him up to a long term deal to end his career in San Diego? Will we bring in enough talent around him for him to want to stick around?