Despite getting cut, Elyria Catholic grad Matt Wilhelm never thought his NFL career was over
Filed by Scott Petrak December 24th, 2009 i
Matt Wilhelm was supposed to be in San Diego in September.
Instead, he spent the month working one-on-one with a trainer at Elyria Catholic High School, his alma mater.
Wilhelm landed on his feet with the San Francisco 49ers, but not before his life in the Southern California paradise was interrupted when the Chargers cut him in July. He played six seasons in San Diego after being drafted in the fourth round out of Ohio State and had been told he?d spend training camp competing with Kevin Burnett for a starting spot at inside linebacker.
But a week before camp opened, Wilhelm was summoned by coach Norv Turner. He was being cut for the first time in his adult life.
?It was extremely tough,? Wilhelm said last week by phone from San Fancisco. ?Tough on me, tough on my family. I have a 21-month-old son.
?It?s life-altering for a family. There?s nothing easy about it.?
The NFL is filled with stories like his, and Wilhelm had seen guys dropped without warning plenty of times. He just didn?t think it would happen to him.
?It was a definite reality check,? he said. ?It was a humbling experience.
?It made me more hungry. It made me better as a person, better as a husband. A lot of communication goes on between a family when things are not going right.?
Wilhelm, 28, began his Chargers career as a special teamer/backup linebacker, and had evolved into a starter in 2007. He signed a five-year, $15 million contract, then lost his starting job and playing time in 2008.
According to Wilhelm, Turner and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said he?d get a shot to beat out Burnett for the starting spot in 2009. But after splitting repetitions in offseason workouts, Wilhelm lost his job before the competition really began.
?It was the ultimate shocker,? he said. ?I was in a state of shock for a week.?
