http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-trade-grades-tracking-every-big-signing-move
Barnwell's 2019 NFL free-agency and trade grades: Tracking every big signing and move
Eric Weddle, S, Rams
The deal: Two years, $12.5 million with $5.25 million guaranteed
Grade: B
With the Rams unlikely to re-sign free agent
Lamarcus Joyner, their list of potential replacements at free safety was vast, especially after
Tashaun Gipson hit the market earlier Friday. As a conference champion in a desirable city with cap space,
the Rams are going to have the lead on signing just about any ring-chasing veteran who hits the market. It's no surprise they ended up with Weddle, and he won't be the last solid over-30 player to join their roster this offseason.
Off the field, Weddle makes plenty of sense for the Rams. General manager Les Snead established a habit of using his own draft picks to trade for talented players while recouping some of the missing selections by letting his own veterans leave in free agency for compensatory picks. The Rams could be in line for as many as four compensatory picks if Joyner, Ndamukong Suh, Rodger Saffold, and Dante Fowler Jr. sign elsewhere.
Eric Weddle has signed a two-year deal with the Rams. Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports
Since Weddle was released by the Ravens, the 34-year-old won't count against the compensatory formula, so he can't cancel out any of the picks the Rams might gain for their four free agents if they move on. As the elder statesman of the safety class, he was the guy most likely to take a short-term deal, and this contact probably represents a one-year pact with an unguaranteed second season. That's ideal for the Rams, too.
On the field, it's fair to say the Ravens thought Weddle wasn't the player he was a couple of years ago, given that they turned down the option to pay him $6.5 million for 2019. It has to be concerning that Weddle failed to stuff the stat sheet the way he had in years past. The six-time Pro Bowler failed to force a takeaway for only the second time in his 11 seasons as a starter and defensed a mere three passes after racking up 21 defenses over the previous two years. The Ravens ranked second in
DVOA on short throws but only 16th on deeper attempts, where you would figure Weddle might have had more of an impact.
At the same time, though, Weddle was a starting safety on the league's third-best defense by DVOA, and it wasn't as if he was an obvious weakness. Weddle still has excellent instincts, and on a unit with starting cornerbacks renowned for jumping routes or coming off their man to try to force an interception, he is a solid last line of defense. Don Martindale had a superb debut season as Ravens defensive coordinator in 2018,
but Rams DC Wade Phillips seems to make just about every player he gets better. The last time Weddle failed to record a takeaway was during his final season with the Chargers, and he promptly picked off 10 passes for the Ravens over the next two years.
The only thing you might say is that the Rams would occasionally slide Joyner down into the slot and play him as a cornerback against wideouts, something they can't really ask Weddle to do at this point of his career. There's always a chance that he returns from the offseason and isn't the same guy -- remember that John Lynch made the Pro Bowl for the Broncos at 36 in 2007 and wasn't able to make the Patriots' roster or catch on anywhere else the following August -- but it's more likely that the Rams get solid, smart safety play in their backfield next season.
