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Along with Adrian Peterson, another high-profile player who won’t be at OTAs Tues: #Chargers Pro Bowl S Eric Weddle. He wants an extension
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 25, 2015
Well, well, well....
Let's quickly dig into this. I'll tell you what I've heard regarding the San Diego Chargers and Eric Weddle.
While Weddle's cap hit in 2015 ($10.1 million), the final year of his contract, is the biggest among all Safeties in the league....his contract works out to, on average, make him the 6th highest paid Safety in the league ($8 million per year).
The 30-year old Pro Bowl Safety is looking for another extension to keep him in San Diego for the rest of his prime, and wants to again be the highest paid Safety in the league (or close to that). However, when he got his last contract extension, he was dealing with A.J. Smith as the team's General Manager.
According to some whispers I've heard, Tom Telesco is not interested in having one of the highest paid Safeties in the league on his roster. He would rather spread the money around elsewhere (likely on Corey Liuget and maybe Melvin Ingram, when he hits free agency). The team has, behind closed doors, essentially expressed that they'd love to have Weddle back...at a pretty massive discount. Otherwise, they're happy to part ways with him and use that money on another player (or players).
Weddle (and his camp) are, understandably, irritated. When the best Safety in the league comes to you asking for a contract extension, it's usually a good idea to say yes. They don't understand why the team isn't jumping at the opportunity.
I don't see the team budging here, and I don't see Weddle going nuts with his holdout. Expect him to be there at training camp in the summer, staying relatively quiet about his contract status, and expect him to be playing for another team next season (likely with some bad words for the current front office on his way out the door).
Does it suck for the fans? Absolutely, but in Telesco we trust....right?