ATLANTA -- Most love the opportunity to put their feet up on Sundays and watch football. Not Sean Weatherspoon.
When he watches, he gets that itch to get back on the field.
"The street life is real," Weatherspoon said in an interview with 11Alive. "You’re not playing, and you’re watching everyone else play. It’s tough. You get restless. I think it gives you a different hunger."
When "Spoon" would watch on Sundays, he didn't just watch his former team, the Atlanta Falcons. He watched everybody, looking for a team that needed some help at the linebacker position. He may be 29, but he considers himself on the right side of 30. He knows he can still play, and he stayed in shape by working out at Georgia Tech and in Scottsdale, Arizona with Cardinals defender Cory Peters.
He played for the Falcons last season, but he ruptured his right Achilles tendon in October. It was devastating. He had made a comeback from the same injury four years earlier on his left foot. He had to watch the Falcons make their run to Super Bowl LI from the sideline. By the offseason, he became a free agent.
He's worked out for numerous teams, but no one needed a veteran linebacker. That is, until last week.
His agent reached out to Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff. Weatherpoon texted head coach Dan Quinn before the Falcons' loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night. They had set something up for Monday after the game. After the Patriots pounded the Falcons 23-7, Weatherspoon followed up with Quinn.
"I texted DQ and said, ‘Tough night. Keep the faith.' "
He reiterated to Quinn that he was still available to work out the next day. Quinn said, "See you tomorrow."
Weatherspoon went through drills and workouts. Quinn and Thomas saw the typical Spoon with his positive energy and strength. There's no doubt they could use his veteran leadership on the defense again, a defense that's young and struggling at time with the basics.
Weatherspoon signed a deal on Tuesday to return to the Falcons for a third time. He was back with the team that drafted him in 2010 out of Mizzou, then signed him again in 2016 after a quick stint with the Arizona Cardinals.
"This is the place where we wanted to be. I live about 2 miles from the stadium. This is home. I love Atlanta. I’m an ATLlien officially now," Weathersepoon said. "But once I heard from Atlanta and another team, but I was like I want to make it happen in Atlanta, and it worked out."
Weatherspoon is ready to lead in whatever way the Falcons want him to, whether it's by his dynamic voice in the locker room or by his toughness on the field. While he admits it may take him a little bit of time to get up to speed, he's ready to play. And the Falcons may need him sooner than later.
Rookie linebacker Duke Riley is having surgery on his knee, which he injured against the Patriots. But the Falcons were interested in Weatherspoon before Riley's injury. He helped coach up last year's rookies, Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell. Spoon could be the guy to get them out of their sophomore slumps.
"He has so much passion and love for the game. And just his enthusiasm when he comes into work and comes to play, he’s great to have around," Jones said.
"We all know the energy he brings to the locker room. And he played a huge part in my development in general last year. Came in kind of wide eyes. I was lost sometimes. Just having a veteran presence man. It was huge for me, huge for the team," Campbell said.
After starting 3-0, the Falcons have lost three straight. While they have many of the same pieces from last year's team, their offense looks out of wack under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, and the defense looks like it has lost some of its speed and physicality.
"We know we have each other’s back," Jones said. "If things are going wrong, it’s on us. No one’s going to come save us. No one else’s input is going to help. It’s just something we’ve got to figure out on our own."
Spoon is ready to help.
"We’re just like any other team in the NFL," Weatherspoon said. "We’re in the thick of it right now."
