REPORT: San Diego Chargers shopping free safety Eric Weddle

The National Football League's trade deadline is November 3, 2015 at 1:00 PM PT. Five-time All Pro free safety Eric Weddle has a contract that expires at the end of the 2015-16 NFL season. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the San Diego Chargers are shopping their best defensive player since at 2-6 their season is all but over.

Eric Weddle could potentially return from injury as early as this weekend. He would instantly upgrade the free safety position of all but a handful of teams in the league. He has publicly sought a contract extension from the Chargers, but the front office has been uninterested in extending him thus far. It wouldn't be that surprising for the team to try to move him ahead of the deadline.

However, he would return a compensatory pick if he left in free agency and the team could Franchise Tag him if they wanted. That makes it unlikely that they'd be willing to accept a less-than-premium offer. And that makes it less likely that any team would be able to match their presumed asking price. Still, this is an interesting development.

UPDATE: This was fun while it lasted. Michael Gehlken throws cold water on the rumors:

Chargers official on report of team shopping Eric Weddle: "It's 1,000 percent inaccurate. ... There haven't been any discussions at all."

— Michael Gehlken (@UTgehlken) November 3, 2015