Written by Josh Benjamin at Forbes.com
Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome has added yet another excellent free agent signing to his lengthy resumé, this time inking veteran safety Eric Weddle to a four-year contract worth $26 million with $13 million guaranteed over the first two years, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It’s quite the deal for Weddle, who had a messy exit from the San Diego Chargers this offseason after spending the first nine seasons of his career with them. Though San Diego struggled in 2015, Weddle still put up solid numbers in posting 78 tackles. The only real mark against him is that he didn’t record a single interception for the first time in his career and also missed time due to injury for the first time since 2009. Sure, he’s 31 years old and not getting any younger, but Weddle is still a three-time Pro Bowler whose blue-collar playing style is a perfect fit in Baltimore’s locker room and well worth the $9 million he’ll earn in 2016.
But more importantly, bringing Weddle aboard is just another case of Newsome bringing aboard a veteran who appeared ready to ride off into the sunset, only to rebuild their value entirely. Consider Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil, for example. At age 29, he was released by the Denver Broncos for financial reasons after a messy snafu involving a late fax, not exactly something that should happen to someone who had established himself as one of the league’s top defensive ends, with 63.5 sacks in seven seasons to prove it despite missing all of 2010 with an injury.
Enter Newsome, who signed Dumervil to a five-year, $35 million deal and had him moved to outside linebacker. This deal was significant because it carried an $8.5 million salary for the first year, but $7.5 million was in a signing bonus, meaning that Dumervil only earned $1 million in base salary in his first year in Baltimore as well as his second according to Spotrac. Last season, after proving his worth and then some, his salary jumped to $5 million. Keep in mind that Dumervil had earned, also per Spotrac, approximately $33.6 million over his final two seasons with the Broncos after inking a six-year, $61.5 million extension with Denver in 2010.
To continue reading this article, click here.
