With his team’s victory in the Super Bowl, Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle was finally able to settle an old score.
Addressing reporters after the Rams’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, Weddle took an unprompted shot at Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco.
“I also want to thank Old Tom Telesco for the way that things ended [with the Chargers] and showing me the light and giving me that motivation and that fire,” Weddle said, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic. “I always said that Eric Weddle would get the the last laugh. And I’m a world champ now.”
You may recall the 37-year-old Weddle’s illustrious career as a Charger. He made two All-Pro teams and three Pro Bowls over nine seasons with the Chargers, establishing himself as one of the best safeties in football. But by the time that the final year of Weddle’s contract arrived in 2015, the Chargers and Telesco no longer wanted him around.
“He said I had a lot of mileage,” said Weddle of Telesco a few years ago, per Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report. “They brought me in to make things better, and made things worse by treating me like I was a nobody. It was shocking.
“I never did one thing wrong,” Weddle added. “Never was late to a meeting. Never was fined. Never refused to do a charity function for them. Never didn’t sacrifice. I was a leader, a captain, an All-Pro. And they showed me the door. I’m as loyal as anyone and will do anything for people I respect. But if you don’t give that back to me in return, you’re dead to me. So I could never go back to that place after what they put me through.”
Weddle’s 2015 season with the Chargers was also marred by a holdout and several other notably ugly incidents between Weddle and the team.
But Weddle can now say that he is a Super Bowl champion after 14 NFL seasons. Since he definitely was not just along for the ride either, Weddle is more than happy to shove his ring in the faces of Telesco and the Chargers.
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