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I guess it's official, from JT of the PD:
In a fitting testimony to the roster upheaval in St. Louis, only defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis were around in 2009 when Will Witherspoon played his last game with the Rams.
Even so, Witherspoon’s return to St. Louis will be a reunion on several levels after the veteran linebacker agreed to terms on a one-year deal to rejoin the Rams.
Cornerback Cortland Finnegan, defensive end Williams Hayes and tight end Jared Cook are all former teammates in Tennessee, where Witherspoon played from 2010-12.
In addition, the Rams’ coaching staff is littered with former Titans coaches, from head coach Jeff Fisher, to assistant head coach Dave McGinnis, secondary coach Chuck Cecil, and linebackers coach Frank Bush. Rams player programs director La’Roi Glover was a Witherspoon teammate in St. Louis. Head athletic trainer Reggie Scott was on the Carolina training staff when Witherspoon broke into the league as a Panther. There’s more, but you get the point.
“I’m excited about it,” Witherspoon said in a phone interview. “Of course, playing for ‘Fish’ again is a big part of it. Being in St. Louis, I’ve got so many different ties there it’s ridiculous. Business there. I was actually looking at putting a new business opportunity there.”
One of those businesses is the Witherspoon-owned Shire Gate Farm near Owensville, Mo., where cattle are raised in a natural, chemical-free environment.
“I’m down there as often as I can be,” he said.
He’ll have more chances to do so now that he’s back in St. Louis.
As the spring practice period progressed, it became more and more obvious to the Rams that they needed a veteran presence among a very young linebacker corps.
“They kind of reached out to Tom (Condon) a few weeks back and said, ‘Hey, we’re considering bringing in Will for camp and everything else. Is he interested?’ “ Witherspoon said, referring to agent Tom Condon of CAA. “Of course, I was interested.”
Witherspoon came in for a visit and workout in mid-June. One thing led to another, but not without a late twist. On the same day that Witherspoon decided to try to get something going with the Rams contract-wise, he got a call from Denver coach John Fox.
Fox, who brought Witherspoon into the league in 2002 as head coach in Carolina, wanted him to join the Broncos.
“With everything I had going on in St. Louis it made more sense (to join the Rams),” Witherspoon said. “And of course, I’d kind of already agreed that we were gonna work on going there. I’m pretty much a man of my word.”
So here he is, in what will be a supporting role on defense.
“From what I understand and what I know thus far, they want me to be a veteran backup,” Witherspoon said. “A guy who’s gonna push guys to know what they need to do, be ready to do — educate them and take guys through it. Part of the education’s gonna be with Alec (Ogletree) coming from a 3-4 defense and getting the nuances of this 4-3 style with the blitz packages and everything that’s happening there.”
Ogletree, who like Witherspoon played in college at Georgia, was a first-round draft pick of the Rams in April. Ogletree and Jo-Lonn Dunbar still are expected to be the starters at outside linebacker, but the Rams plan on having Witherspoon involved in some packages.
“First things first,” Witherspoon said, laughing. “I’ve got to show these guys that the old guy can still run. Because I’m sure they’re all looking at that.”
Witherpoon, who turns 33 on Aug. 19, becomes the oldest player on what figures to be the NFL’s youngest roster for the second year in a row.
“Honestly, my body doesn’t feel bad,” he said. “I don’t get up in the morning and not want to play this game. Because I promised myself a long time ago if I was ever at that point, I wasn’t gonna be in this game. It would be time for me to walk away.”
But Witherspoon performed well during his June workout with the Rams, and the team is convinced he can still cover ground perform effectively — although not in a 50- to 60-play capacity on game day.
During his 11-year NFL career Witherspoon has played in 173 regular-season games with 150 starts. After spending his first four seasons in Carolina, he was the Rams’ big offseason “get” during the 2006 free agency period, signing a six-year, $33 million deal that included $15 million in guaranteed money.
Witherspoon led the Rams in tackles in 2006 and ’07 and was named team MVP in ’07 — a year in which he led the team in sacks. He was a team captain in 2008, then was surprisingly shipped to Philadelphia six games into the ’09 season in a trade-deadline deal that brought wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round pick to St. Louis.
After finishing the ’09 season with the Eagles, Witherspoon spent the next three seasons in Tennessee. But his production and playing time dropped last season as rookie Zach Brown moved into a starting role.
“I played all last year with a bad hamstring,” Witherspoon said. “A lot of people were talking about my numbers were down and everything else and all that. OK, well you play an entire season in this game with a bad hamstring, you’ll see how great things go for you.”
In a fitting testimony to the roster upheaval in St. Louis, only defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis were around in 2009 when Will Witherspoon played his last game with the Rams.
Even so, Witherspoon’s return to St. Louis will be a reunion on several levels after the veteran linebacker agreed to terms on a one-year deal to rejoin the Rams.
Cornerback Cortland Finnegan, defensive end Williams Hayes and tight end Jared Cook are all former teammates in Tennessee, where Witherspoon played from 2010-12.
In addition, the Rams’ coaching staff is littered with former Titans coaches, from head coach Jeff Fisher, to assistant head coach Dave McGinnis, secondary coach Chuck Cecil, and linebackers coach Frank Bush. Rams player programs director La’Roi Glover was a Witherspoon teammate in St. Louis. Head athletic trainer Reggie Scott was on the Carolina training staff when Witherspoon broke into the league as a Panther. There’s more, but you get the point.
“I’m excited about it,” Witherspoon said in a phone interview. “Of course, playing for ‘Fish’ again is a big part of it. Being in St. Louis, I’ve got so many different ties there it’s ridiculous. Business there. I was actually looking at putting a new business opportunity there.”
One of those businesses is the Witherspoon-owned Shire Gate Farm near Owensville, Mo., where cattle are raised in a natural, chemical-free environment.
“I’m down there as often as I can be,” he said.
He’ll have more chances to do so now that he’s back in St. Louis.
As the spring practice period progressed, it became more and more obvious to the Rams that they needed a veteran presence among a very young linebacker corps.
“They kind of reached out to Tom (Condon) a few weeks back and said, ‘Hey, we’re considering bringing in Will for camp and everything else. Is he interested?’ “ Witherspoon said, referring to agent Tom Condon of CAA. “Of course, I was interested.”
Witherspoon came in for a visit and workout in mid-June. One thing led to another, but not without a late twist. On the same day that Witherspoon decided to try to get something going with the Rams contract-wise, he got a call from Denver coach John Fox.
Fox, who brought Witherspoon into the league in 2002 as head coach in Carolina, wanted him to join the Broncos.
“With everything I had going on in St. Louis it made more sense (to join the Rams),” Witherspoon said. “And of course, I’d kind of already agreed that we were gonna work on going there. I’m pretty much a man of my word.”
So here he is, in what will be a supporting role on defense.
“From what I understand and what I know thus far, they want me to be a veteran backup,” Witherspoon said. “A guy who’s gonna push guys to know what they need to do, be ready to do — educate them and take guys through it. Part of the education’s gonna be with Alec (Ogletree) coming from a 3-4 defense and getting the nuances of this 4-3 style with the blitz packages and everything that’s happening there.”
Ogletree, who like Witherspoon played in college at Georgia, was a first-round draft pick of the Rams in April. Ogletree and Jo-Lonn Dunbar still are expected to be the starters at outside linebacker, but the Rams plan on having Witherspoon involved in some packages.
“First things first,” Witherspoon said, laughing. “I’ve got to show these guys that the old guy can still run. Because I’m sure they’re all looking at that.”
Witherpoon, who turns 33 on Aug. 19, becomes the oldest player on what figures to be the NFL’s youngest roster for the second year in a row.
“Honestly, my body doesn’t feel bad,” he said. “I don’t get up in the morning and not want to play this game. Because I promised myself a long time ago if I was ever at that point, I wasn’t gonna be in this game. It would be time for me to walk away.”
But Witherspoon performed well during his June workout with the Rams, and the team is convinced he can still cover ground perform effectively — although not in a 50- to 60-play capacity on game day.
During his 11-year NFL career Witherspoon has played in 173 regular-season games with 150 starts. After spending his first four seasons in Carolina, he was the Rams’ big offseason “get” during the 2006 free agency period, signing a six-year, $33 million deal that included $15 million in guaranteed money.
Witherspoon led the Rams in tackles in 2006 and ’07 and was named team MVP in ’07 — a year in which he led the team in sacks. He was a team captain in 2008, then was surprisingly shipped to Philadelphia six games into the ’09 season in a trade-deadline deal that brought wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round pick to St. Louis.
After finishing the ’09 season with the Eagles, Witherspoon spent the next three seasons in Tennessee. But his production and playing time dropped last season as rookie Zach Brown moved into a starting role.
“I played all last year with a bad hamstring,” Witherspoon said. “A lot of people were talking about my numbers were down and everything else and all that. OK, well you play an entire season in this game with a bad hamstring, you’ll see how great things go for you.”
I like that. Touche brother. 
