Eric Weddle's first season in Baltimore won't end the way he hoped.
The Ravens were eliminated from postseason contention Sunday with their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the veteran safety told a group of reporters that he has no regrets about coming to Baltimore as a free agent this offseason.
"I would do it 100 times over again," Weddle said.
Weddle chose the Ravens despite plenty of other options on the open market. He drew interest from several teams after the San Diego Chargers cut him this offseason, including the Steelers and New England Patriots. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger even gave Weddle a recruiting pitch to try to get him to Pittsburgh.
But Weddle opted for the Ravens.
"Baltimore, it's been an amazing place and experience. It's opened my eyes a little bit just of other organizations," Weddle said. "I'm proud to be a part of this team, proud to be part of this group of men that really challenged each other, never pointed the fingers, never turned our backs on each other. We always stood together. That's going to carry us in the future for sure."
Weddle performed at an incredibly high level in his first season with Baltimore, racking up 85 tackles, four interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble. Even though he got snubbed of a Pro Bowl selection, Weddle said last week that he thinks this may be the best season of his 10-year career.
He also emerged as a leader essentially from the time he signed in March. He helped transform the back end of the defense and quickly became a respected player in the locker room.
As the Ravens worked to come to grips with the disappointment of Sunday's loss, Weddle was already looking ahead to how Baltimore can grow from the loss and improve for next season.
"Hopefully guys can look at this moment and know how close we are, and just drive them in the offseason to come back and get better individually, and know we have a great group of guys, from the organization top-down," he said. "We'll be back in this situation, in this game, and we'll be on the right side next time."
