After being placed on injured reserve and handed a $10,000 fine, safety Eric Weddle is almost definitely leaving the Chargers this offseason.
During Week 15’s game against the Miami Dolphins, Weddle remained on the sideline to watch his daughter dance on the field at halftime without informing the team. That decision cost him $10,000. He was also placed on injured reserve, ending his season, and told he couldn’t travel with the team to their final game in Denver because there was no room on the plane.
That saga will almost guarantee that Weddle will hit the open market; the three-time Pro Bowler will be a free agent at the end of this season.
Chargers head coach Mike McCoy confirmed that the safety was disciplined for violating team rules.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“We have a policy here, and a situation took place two weeks ago at our stadium. So yes, we did fine him,” he said. “It’s an organizational call. We have a club policy here, and there are certain things we have to do as a football team at halftime to make adjustments, and things like that. That’s why we did that.”
Veteran tight end Antonio Gates also keyed on Weddle’s lack of communication. “I’m not really surprised (that he was fined),” the tight end said.
“To me, the communication wasn’t there, and I think that was more important than anything. Obviously anything you do, whoever has played in this league understands there is no one person above the team. With all that being said, that was his daughter. That’s just not my call. That is something the coaches and he should have had a conversation about, and that should have been made from that point on. From my understanding, there was no conversation about it. It’s very hard to make any assumptions about that because it was not obviously in the best (interest) of the team, and you are talking about a first class guy who due to that circumstance was put into a dilemma to make a decision at the last second.”
Weddle’s agent, David Cantor, made his feelings known on Twitter.
Photo: Chargers safety Eric Weddle by Jeffery Bealle, via Wikimedia Commons
With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…
https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…
Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…