Sources continue to tell Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that they don’t expect Philip Rivers and the Chargers to agree to terms on an extension before the season, though it’s not unfathomable that the two sides will reach a compromise. According to Acee, the Chargers and Rivers both eventually want to work out an agreement that will allow the quarterback to retire with the team, but disbursement of guaranteed money in the third year of any deal is among the current sticking points in negotiations.
Eric Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears from a league source that San Diego is willing to guarantee the third year of Rivers’ new contract, which is common for franchise quarterbacks, and Acee acknowledges that such a detail is unlikely to be a long-term roadblock. But if the two sides don’t agree on the structure of the extension soon, they may wait until 2016 to get something done.
Here are a few more Wednesday night odds and ends from around the NFL:
- During the owners’ meeting in Chicago this week to discuss possible relocation to Los Angeles, both the Carson and Inglewood groups made strong presentations, and both projects have their share of supporters, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Cole, a large group of owners supports the Raiders and Chargers‘ joint Carson proposal, since it would solve the “California dilemma” in one fell swoop. On the other hand, a vocal contingent of owners – including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones – support Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood proposal, since they feel the Rams owner’s deep pockets would make the project work.
- Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times also has a recap of this week’s meeting regarding L.A., and touches on several of the same points as Cole. According to Farmer, many owners believe Kroenke has the best location and stadium plan, but he’s less popular among his peers than Chargers owner Dean Spanos, and St. Louis has done more than San Diego and Oakland to keep its franchise.
- Explaining his decision to claim IK Enemkpali off waivers today from the Jets, Bills head coach Rex Ryan told reporters that Enemkpali “was a good teammate” last year in New York, adding that there’s no guarantee the former sixth-round pick will make Buffalo’s regular season roster (Twitter links via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News and ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak).
- According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Ryan remains a fan of the player who Enemkpali cold-cocked — Mehta writes that, after landing the Bills‘ coaching job this winter, Ryan wondered aloud to friends if the Jets would trade Geno Smith to Buffalo.
- Saints rookie tight end Jack Tabb underwent surgery this week to repair a torn ACL, a source tells Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Waived last Friday by the team, Tabb is currently on New Orleans’ injured reserve list and will miss the 2015 season.