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Lindsey ThiryESPN
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams play the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. It’s a critical game for the 6-4 Rams, who desperately need a win to remain in the playoff hunt, only a season after appearing in Super Bowl LIII.
But don’t expect the circumstances to compromise the ethics of Rams safety Eric Weddle, who played the past three seasons with the Ravens.
Weddle said Wednesday that he won’t be sharing any inside secrets about his former team.
“I could tell them a lot of stuff, but that’s just not who I am,” said Weddle, who signed a two-year, $10.5 million contract with the Rams after the Ravens released him last March. “So, we’re going to play it on the field and the best team is going to win.”
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Rams coach Sean McVay, who calls offensive plays, often acknowledges Weddle’s football intelligence and has said the 13-year NFL veteran has provided him with insights and perspective since his arrival.
However, McVay said Wednesday that he had not spoken to Weddle about the nuances of the Ravens’ defense, which is limiting opponents to an average of 19.6 points per game (ranks 6th).
“In terms of some of the intricacies, I think he’s got a lot of loyalty to those guys even if he’s not there anymore,” McVay said.
It’s uncertain whether cornerback Marcus Peters, whom the Rams dealt to the Ravens in a mid-October trade, will share any specific insights about the Rams operation with his new team.
When asked if it could be considered unfair to share inside information about a former team, McVay said, “It’s totally at each person’s individual approach.”
However, it would seem the Rams, who have a 19% chance of making the playoffs, could use any and all information available to help slow down the 8-2 Ravens, who are averaging an NFL-best 34.1 points per game behind quarterback Lamar Jackson, the front-runner to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
Still, Weddle won’t budge.
“I have a lot of respect for that place, not only how it helped my career and rejuvenated my career, how they treated myself and my family,” Weddle said. “But it’s a very tight-knit group and what would I be — what kind of man would I be if I just turned my back on all of them?”
The Ravens signed Weddle to a four-year, $26-million contract in 2016, after he had a falling out with the San Diego Chargers, where he spent the previous nine seasons of his career.
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