The deadline for Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill to sign their tenders before the offer drops significantly has now come and gone, and Kevin Acee has started speculating (along with the rest of the media) that both guys will sit out until Week 10 (which is a bye before a home game against the Broncos). If they haven't signed yet, this move seems like the only one that they have left.
I'm not going to go into all the reasons that I agree or disagree with these moves, either by the players or the team, but I will roll with the hypothetical situation that has both of these Pro Bowl players sitting out the first 9 or 10 games of the season and take a look at what the San Diego Chargers roster looks like without them. After the break, a prediction on the depth chart (barring any injury).
QB
Philip Rivers
Billy Volek
Jonathan Crompton
RB
Ryan Mathews
Darren Sproles
Marcus Mason
FB
Mike Tolbert
Jacob Hester
TE
Antonio Gates
Randy McMichael
Kris Wilson
WR
Malcom Floyd
Legedu Naanee
Buster Davis
Josh Reed
Ernest Smith
LT
Brandyn Dombrowski
Tra Thomas
LG
Kris Dielman
David Binn
C
Nick Hardwick
Scott Mruczkowski
RG
Louis Vasquez
Tyronne Green
RT
Jeromey Clary
LDE
Luis Castillo
Alfonso Boone
NT
Cam Thomas
Antonio Garay
Ryon Bingham
RDE
Vaughn Martin
Travis Johnson
LOLB
Shaun Phillips
Jyles Tucker
LILB
Brandon Siler
Stephen Cooper
RILB
Kevin Burnett
Donald Butler
Darry Beckwith
ROLB
Shawne Merriman
Larry English
LCB
Quentin Jammer
Nathan Vasher
RCB
Antoine Cason
Donald Strickland
FS
Eric Weddle
Paul Oliver
C.J. Spillman
SS
Darrell Stuckey
Kevin Ellison
Steve Gregory
K
Nate Kaeding
P
Mike Scifres
NFL teams are allowed to have 53 men on their roster. The list above has 53. That means that if there's anyone that is not on that list that wants to make the team, they have to be lucky or just flat-out better than the guy in front of them. The above list is just a guess and will probably be nowhere close to the final roster, but if it does turn out this way.....here's my list of guys I wish I had more space to include:
Antwan Applewhite
James Holt (who could make the team if they decide against keeping Ellison)
Ian Scott
Jacques Cesaire
Brandon Hughes
Ogemdi Nwagbuo (who could easily replace Garay on the above list, really)