Chargers camp is underway, and it doesn’t sound like running back Melvin Gordon is particularly close to coming back. Gordon has said he won’t report until he gets a new deal, and it doesn’t seem like there’s been much progress.
There is now “mounting pessimism” that Gordon “will be reporting anytime soon and his holdout threatens to go into the regular season,” sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chargers GM Tom Telesco did say a couple of days ago that he offered Gordon a contract extension, but wouldn’t say how much he offered. Whatever Telesco offered he’s apparently set on, as a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN that the Chargers “are not willing to move off a certain number” (Twitter link).
Gordon has said he wants to stay with the team, but both sides don’t look like they’re backing down any time soon. Gordon, a 2015 first-round pick is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal. Gordon has said he’s willing to sit out as long as it takes, but this is the first real news we’ve heard that he’s apparently in danger of missing regular season time.
If Gordon were to miss time, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson would be asked to pick up the slack in his place. Gordon had by far the most efficient year of his career last season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Gordon is also an asset in the passing game, and is likely looking for one huge payday before he’s deemed over the hill.
Gordon, who will be 27 in April, is apparently looking for something comparable to what Todd Gurley, David Johnson, and Le’Veon Bell have recently gotten on their deals. Another thing to keep an eye on is the fallout from comments Philip Rivers made at training camp today. Gordon apparently objected to Rivers saying the team was “deep” at running back and was happy with the group they had, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
‘We love Melvin, but that group is deep and those guys will get a lot of work’; what’s so wrong with Philip Rivers saying that?!….He literally can’t answer the question either way without offending someone on the RB staff smh?!?!
What? Who cares about the chargers anyway. The chargers don’t.
I hope he sits out til week 10! The union needs to do something to take the chains off RBs in the next CBA!
Dump both Tags and shorten the rookie deals to 3-4 years MAX!
they just need to make the tag a 2yr guarenteed money (3rd yr guaranteed for injury only) instead of year to year. problem solved
I like it. Take out the 3rd year injury thing tho.
Agreed franchise tag is a joke
So what do the owners get for that, 18 game season? Are you proposing positional variations in contracts? None of the above happen.
Take off as much time as you need.
Sincerely,
Chiefs fan
Chiefs got them even with Gordon! That franchise is run by clowns!
Exactly what has he done to earn a new contract? In 4 seasons, he has inly rushed more than 1,000 yards 1 time. He has only played more than 12 games 2 times. So he plays 3/4 of a season as it is. He’s had fumble issues, injury issues and now he feels he deserves a new contract? Please. Let him sit on the sidelines or trade him to someone like Buffalo or miami and let them deal with the problem.
Most jobs have a wage scale when you are hired. You know the wages prior to taking the job. Just cause you show up and do the job better than some, doesn’t give you the right to not show up at work and do his job