Eric Weddle could pull a Spanos this winter.

The longtime Chargers safety could join forces with the Oakland Raiders.

It would take signing with Oakland as a free agent, a scenario that gained traction Monday night when Raiders safety Charles Woodson, 39, announced his retirement.

Expect a dropoff whoever gets the job, but Weddle has the mental prowess to help blunt the loss of the likely future Hall of Famer.


It’s not clear where the Raiders will call home in 2016, but going to Oakland or Los Angeles would keep Weddle, his wife and children in California.

Also, staying in the AFC West would shave Weddle’s learning curve with a new team.

Though Weddle has downplayed the role of money in last offseason’s contractual stalemate with the Chargers, the Raiders will have a lot of cap room next year.

Weddle has talked of wanting to win a Super Bowl. If he’s bent on chasing a ring, the Raiders (6-8) may be not be a great choice, but they’ve clinched their best season in four years and have several emerging playmakers on both offense and defense.


Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie, for his part, will have at least six picks in the top-15 of each round should he decide to draft a replacement to Woodson. Or, he could turn to a younger player on the roster such as TJ Carrie.

For many Chargers fans, the sight would be jarring: Weddle in a Raiders uniform, defending against former longtime teammate Philip Rivers, but would The Beard in pirates’ garb sting any more than the Chargers-Raiders stadium pact announced last February by team owners Dean Spanos and Mark Davis?