LA Rams defense in their own multiverse reunion for Wildcard weekend

Safety Eric Weddle retired from the LA Rams after the 2019 season. Taylor Rapp was the other starter in that year and the starting safety in 2021. Second-year defensive back Terrell Burgess may be the future starter at safety for the LA Rams secondary. And now, the team is trying to get Rapp off the NFL concussion protocol to join both Weddle and Burgess in competing in the Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs.

What, in the name of the NFL Multiverse of Madness, is going on here?

Okay, let’s back this up. The LA Rams signed up former Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle to help the defense out in the 2019 season. That contract was for two years, a segue to allow the Rams to draft new defensive backs, learn from the veteran, and then have younger players be fully prepared to take over. But that first year, John Johnson III was injured early, and the Rams secondary found Weddle playing alongside rookie Taylor Rapp.

Weddle don’t do backup

After that season, it was clear that the Rams would likely start Rapp with the now healthy John Johnson III. Faced with a season of backup duty, Eric Weddle chose to retire in 2020. Since that time, the LA Rams have added both Jordan Fuller and Terrell Burgess to the mix but lost John Johnson III to free agency.

Now fast forward all of this to the 2021 NFL Season. In Week 18, San Francisco 49ers center Alex Mack stepped on the ankle of Rams defensive back Jordan Fuller, effectively injuring him and benching him through the NFL Playoffs. While that was happening, defensive back Taylor Rapp suffered a concussion, and his availability for the Wildcard Round is in question.

Weddle would not come back to sit on the bench folks. He’s back and has every expectation of playing a role on defense. Some reports even suggest that he will even be calling the Rams defensive plays in the game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Much like the latest Marvel movie: Spiderman – No Way Home, the LA Rams are in a situation where safeties of the past, present, and future must find a way to combine forces to stop the villainous Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Sounds like a Hollywood movie script:? Ah, why not. This is LA, baby. Welcome to Hollywood.