The San Diego Chargers Keep LaDanian Tomlinson

by Brian (DaBolts) on Mar 10, 2009 8:43 PM PDT

After what felt like a week of water torture; all is right with the world. The Chargers retained future Hall of Fame runningback LaDainian Tomlinson according to espn. [Huge HT to sdsuaztec4] While the Chargers felt they had to renegotiate the contract to stay competitive; this had to be hard for LT to agree to, particularly in light of Sproles $6 million franchise deal. Tomlinson came to the Chargers when they were in their nadir and has played brilliantly throughout his eight year career. While closing on 12,000 yards rushing he bulled his way to 126 rushing touchdowns; he was the soul of the franchise. With his distinctive jump cut and unworldly balance he straight armed his way to virtually every Charger rushing record as well as the single season NFL TD rushing record.

LT at work

With all that he as accomplished the last few years haven't been easy. After the Chargers went 14-2 in 2006 they were shocked by the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. LT took particular exception to the Patriots celebrations which he felt were unprofessional. The next year saw his carries decline somewhat and he was injured enough to send him off the field against the Colts in the playoffs. Watching the Chargers beat the Colts and ultimately lose to the Patriots again was bad enough; but the media also questioned his toughness in staying out. This season the Chargers again struggled early and LT suffered from a toe injury in the first game against the Panthers. That injury would continue to nag him throughout the season as his average yards per carry dipped to a surprisingly human 3.8 yards per carry. He seemed on the verge of a breakout in the Chargers final game against the Broncos; but suffered a groin injury in the process. He was again on the sidelines for most of the playoffs and the statistics for 30 year old running backs are not happy ones.

This was the context in which negotiations began with many speculating that the Chargers might do the unthinkable due to the size of LTs contract. To further complicate things AJ Smith made comments that many thought mocked LT; for which he quickly appologized. On the other side the Chargers were unhappy that the extent of LTs groin injury had been leaked in the heat of the playoffs. The cards seemed stacked against a return by one of the best players ever to blaze across the grid iron. But don't ever count Tomlinson out; he has come through once again for the Chargers. There is no doubt he could find more money on another team, but he has remained loyal to the Chargers and his fans. On the other side we have to give credit to Dean Spanos who clearly worked as a calming influence between AJ and LT, and also will paying LTs still substantial salary. This is one of the great days in San Diego sports; what a gift it has been to watch LT jump cut his way to the pantheon of NFL greats; we will now watch him finish his career where he belongs; in blue and gold.

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Official Statements from the team and LT

BW has the scoop.

Spanos

“This is a good day for the Chargers and for Chargers fans,” San Diego owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “It was important to me to get this done so LT could continue his career here in San Diego where he means so much to our team, our fans and our community. The alternative was just unthinkable. He belongs in San Diego.”

Added Tomlinson in a statement: “I love San Diego and being a part of this team with my teammates,” said Tomlinson. "My number-one priority was to stay here in San Diego. I truly believe this is the place that gives me the best chance to be successful and win a championship. I want to finish the job we started when I got here eight years ago. My heart has always been in San Diego. I couldn’t imagine putting on another uniform.

“I really appreciate the role Dean played throughout this process. He made it work for everyone, and I appreciate his friendship more than he knows.”

Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Mar 10, 2009 8:49 PM PDT reply actions

Also

on SOSD

Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Mar 10, 2009 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions

So much respect

for LT and the Chargers for getting this done. I hope the team takes this commitment from LT and runs with it. If anyone deserves a Bowl is LT and San Diego. Lets go boys…

by soulSD on Mar 10, 2009 8:53 PM PDT reply actions

jesus im

happy

by soulSD on Mar 10, 2009 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Wooohooo!

by Grey Suit on Mar 10, 2009 9:25 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs

i can see

that youre nuts

by soulSD on Mar 10, 2009 11:30 PM PDT up reply actions

I had convinced myself that I didn’t care if we kept him or not. I was wrong. This makes me very happy.

Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

by Richard Wade on Mar 10, 2009 9:46 PM PDT reply actions

I don't understand

If the money didn’t change for 2009, then why the push to get this restructure done? Why couldn’t the drama wait until next year? It’s not like you needed to free up the money for 2010 or 2011 yet, you could sign your players such that you went over the cap for those years and then fixed it later.

My only answer would be is that they wanted cap relief for 2009 and tried to get it, but fell back to the position where they kept the numbers the same for 09 and still got the restructuring they needed for 2010 and 2011. Also, maybe they felt that LT coming off injury was a good time to start negotiations on this, whereas if he did well in 2009 then they wouldn’t have a case to bring LT to the negotiating table. If either is true, then it’s a pretty shrewd move by the Chargers and LT got played just a little.

1-10-DEN 18 (9:52) (Shotgun) 6-J.Cutler pass short right intended for 19-E.Royal INTERCEPTED by 93-L.Castillo (95-S.Phillips) at DEN 18. 93-L.Castillo to DEN 14 for 4 yards (62-C.Wiegmann). 6-J.Cutler pouts ob to DEN 25 for 11 yards.

by Wonko on Mar 10, 2009 10:59 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

LT

did get played a bit. Especially if you look at what he probably could have gotten in FA if he was released. All the more reason to celebrate.

by soulSD on Mar 10, 2009 11:33 PM PDT up reply actions

What I think.....

I don’t think at the end of the next season they wanted to deal with negotiating with LT, Rivers, McNeil AND Merriman. Doing a long-term deal with Rivers now makes complete sense. Now next year they just have to focus on how well McNeil and Merriman bounce back, then negotiating with them at the end of the season. Having our 4 star players all dealing at the same time would’ve been difficult and possibly messy.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Mar 11, 2009 4:34 AM PDT up reply actions

You could be right

But from the Chargers point of view perhaps they need LTs contract nailed down in order to have a good idea of exactly what they can afford to give Rivers, McNeil, VJ and Merriman. They have to start negotiating at least some of those contracts during this year. Also if they are going to lose LT; they might prefer to go Wells or Moreno with the first rounder to have that starter whereas if they can keep him for two or three years they can afford to fish in the third round for a good candidate.

"Football is a physical sport, sometimes you have a disagreement on what's going on, and you have a discussion about it." Kris Dielman

by Brian (DaBolts) on Mar 11, 2009 8:22 AM PDT up reply actions

Nailing down LTs contract

obviously helps the team with decisions, but they could also have waited to release him and they’d know how much they could spend in that case as well. If, like you say, they NEEDED to get it nailed down then it sounds like they really weren’t willing to let LT go. In which case, LT had more leverage than people were making it seem, which I think was my point from before. I think the Chargers were mostly bluffing and while they didn’t win big, they certainly didn’t lose here.

by Wonko on Mar 11, 2009 9:47 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

So...

what does this do to the Chargers draft day? The renegotiate LT, and Sproles is back for at least next year. The just signed Bennett at LB. Does that mean the Bolts go after a lineman or D-lineman in the first round, or do they still get a RB? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Do or do not. There is no try.

by Clip Show on Mar 11, 2009 9:33 AM PDT reply actions

Sorry...

Burnett…not Bennett.

Do or do not. There is no try.

by Clip Show on Mar 11, 2009 9:34 AM PDT up reply actions

I think they will end up trading Sproles

and drafting a big Turner like back to complement LT.

by Grey Suit on Mar 11, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions

I thought

they couldn’t trade Sproles because he didn’t sign his tender. Is this right? If that is the case, then would it be wise for the Bolts to draft C. Wells or K Moreno in the first round and have 3 RB’s on the roster? I still think they need to address the O Line, safety and D-Line positions before they think about getting another RB. There should be a lot of good RB’s left in the later rounds anyway.

Do or do not. There is no try.

by Clip Show on Mar 11, 2009 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions

Kindof

They cannot trade Sproles until he signs his tender. So right now he’s playing the “I’ll sign my tender when you work out a deal with a team I actually want to go to” game. If they tell him they want to trade him to Detroit, he supposedly won’t sign and will sit out the year. If they tell him they want to trade him to Miami or the Giants or something, he’ll sign to make it work.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Mar 11, 2009 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks...

for clearing that up. Do we know what the Bolts are doing with Sproles right now? Are they shopping him?…working on a long term contract? …doing the “wait and see” approach?

Do or do not. There is no try.

by Clip Show on Mar 11, 2009 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Probably what they'd like to do...

Is work out a deal that’s more like 3 yrs/9 mil rather than the 1 yr/6.5 mil that the franchise tag would give to him. They might have expressed this, they might not have. They haven’t said or hinted at shopping him around. They have said they’d like to lock him up long term.

One thing is for sure….AJ would love to have a second round pick. With that being said, expect a 3 year deal to be struck between the two teams before the draft.

and Coastal Bronco is right. Sproles is not a number 1 (I have serious doubts about him being a number 2) and Tomlinson has two years left as a great RB, at best. Signing LT just means that we can wait and get an RB with the 3rd or 4th rounder, rather than a 1st.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Mar 11, 2009 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions

Thats what I was thinking...

not using the first round pick on a RB..but rather wait until the 3rd or 4th round and snatch one up. And Sproles is not a #1 RB…and should not get paid accordingly. I would like to see the long term contract for Sproles get taken care of relatively quickly now too.

Do or do not. There is no try.

by Clip Show on Mar 11, 2009 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Maybe we can trade Sproles for a 2nd round pick

and take a RB.

Brady Hoke, Al Borges, and Rocky Long. Aztec football is back!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Mar 11, 2009 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions

What's funny is that....

I think that’s entirely possible and it would be giving us more than what we got for giving up Michael Turner.

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Mar 11, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah but there is no waqy he will sit out the year

and lose $6.5 mil and be in a bad position to sign a contract in 2010 when all of his hype will have died down.

by Grey Suit on Mar 11, 2009 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

And everyone involved knows that. Something will get done.

by Richard Wade on Mar 11, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Whether or not Sproles is traded, drafting an RB is a timely move

LDT still has a lot of miles on him, and he’s been injured quite a bit the past few years. Despite his flashes of brilliance, I don’t see Sproles as a #1 RB.

Glad to see it worked out for LDT and the Chargers. Good job, Dean.

by Leukadian on Mar 11, 2009 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions