Falcons, Rams interested in LB Will Witherspoon
Linebackers are lingering on the free agency market. Will Witherspoon, a veteran that boasts 150 regular season starts, has yet to sign with a team. That could change, however, now that he’s been in discussions with two NFL teams.
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Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk explained the situation:
"Will Witherspoon, who played 16 games for St. Louis a season ago, has had contact with the Rams and Falcons, according to NBC affiliate WJHG-TV in Panama City, Florida. According to a story posted on the station’s website Wednesday, Witherspoon has discussed a deal with both teams, he indicated last week."
The Rams and Atlanta are both in need of linebacker depth but in different defenses. Most notably, the Falcons lost their projected starter, Sean Weatherspoon. Witherspoon would keep his same role of outside linebacker if he returned to the Rams 4-3. In Atlanta’s 3-4, he would see reps as an inside linebacker.
Witherspoon brings reliability and experience that few linebackers on the market can. He spoke a bit about his career hopes with WJHG-TV:
“You know, I’ve been extremely blessed to make it this long in this game and to look at it from the standpoint of saying, ‘I can do this more’ … I’ve always done it with the ‘I can’ attitude. And I’ve always done it with the understanding that no matter what the opportunity or the disadvantage that I had, I’m gonna figure out a way to get around it and do what I need to do.”
The veteran should be on a roster come the beginning training camp.