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Eric Weddle says he's 'still feeling' his 2022 comeback and Aaron Donald should hear it
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- Eric Weddle says he's 'still feeling' his 2022 comeback and Aaron Donald should hear it
Eric Weddle says he's 'still feeling' his 2022 comeback and Aaron Donald should hear it originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Nobody in football is better positioned to tell Aaron Donald what a Rams comeback would actually feel like than Eric Weddle .
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The former six-time Pro Bowl safety came out of retirement in Jan 2022, two years removed from his last NFL game, to join the Rams for their playoff run and help them win a Super Bowl.
He spoke to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer about what that experience did to his body, and what Donald should weigh seriously before committing to anything.
"I still am feeling it, if I'm being honest," Weddle told Breer.
He came off the bench for 19 snaps in the Wild Card round against the Arizona Cardinals and tweaked his hamstring.
He then returned for 61 snaps in the divisional round against Tom Brady 's Buccaneers , started and played every snap in the NFC Championship, and started Super Bowl LVI against the Bengals , wearing the green dot and communicating defensive play calls with a torn pec he sustained during the game.
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"After the Niners game, I didn't sleep for two days, I was in so much pain," Weddle said. "And then it was the realization of that's why I retired. This is the reason."
What Weddle said about Donald specifically and where he thinks the question truly sits
He gave Donald credit while being direct about the limitation of his own assessment.
"I think he could go play right now," Weddle said. "It's just, man, taking on double teams. I think he can handle all that. I think he could. I don't know for how long he would want to, but he's mentally, physically the elite of the elite. It's just whether he wants to or not. I think ultimately that's up to him."
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He also confirmed, characteristically, that he'd do his own comeback again without hesitation.
"Oh, a thousand percent. I mean, if they called me and it is the same exact scenario and they needed me now, I would again, honestly. I don't think I would pass a physical, how bad my ruptured pec was. If I was a younger guy, say like in the middle of my career, and that injury happened, I think I would've been forced to retire because no one would clear me, how bad my pec was. So I don't even think I could. But I bet I would try."
Donald is 35, retired for over two years, and has been publicly "flirting with the idea" since the Myles Garrett trade last week.
The Rams would really welcome it. Sean McVay mentored both of them and knows precisely what they're capable of.
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