San Diego Chargers fans need Evan Mathis

Dear Tom Telesco,

We (as in, fans of the San Diego Chargers) need you to sign Evan Mathis. We really do. I'm sorry it's gotten to this point, but my sorrow doesn't change the facts.

This, your third offseason as the team's General Manager, has been terrible. All of the talk has been centered on the team possibly leaving San Diego for Los Angeles in a year, or the team's star QB being traded, or the team not wanting to re-sign the best and most well-liked player on your defense. Not to mention, signing one of the league's better tackles and making him a tackle while leaving D.J. Fluker at a position he clearly struggles with.

We need a win. We need something to get excited about. Your "window" for making us happy appears to be one single year. In 2016, there's a good chance that Antonio Gates is retired and Eric Weddle is wearing another team's jersey, and who knows if Philip Rivers will still be around or if the team will even still be one that we feel we can root for.

I don't normally advocate for going "all in" on a single season, too many things can go wrong and you can easily screw yourself long-term with the moves that you make, but I'm tired of thinking long term. I'm tired of thinking about where the team will be playing, and who will be playing on that team. I want to think about winning. I want to speculate about the Lomnardi Trophy. I want to talk about the Chargers like they could win the division and be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs. Evan Mathis does this.

For those that don't know, Mathis is either the best guard or the league or the second best. Similar to Weddle (or Rivers), he wants a new contract that rewards him for his talents, but the Eagles have been wary about shelling out big money and big years to a guy that will be 34 years old by the end of the season. Mathis has complained to the media, he's held out from OTAs, and he's obviously annoyed the Eagles...because they released him just a few days ago. He's now free to sign with any team that will pay him.

I know that you, Tom, can not patch up all the holes on the roster overnight. However, you can overcome a fair amount of them with the best offensive line in the league. You can help your own draft picks, Chris Watt and D.J. Fluker, by inserting a dominant guard in between them. You can keep Philip Rivers off his back, and open up wide running lanes for Melvin Gordon (so that we stop questioning that pick or that trade). You can also relegate Johnnie Troutman to the bench.

Give us back our hope, if only for one season. We'll support a downtown stadium, or whatever else your bosses want to do. Just convince us that you're not spitting in the face of our idols. Nothing would make us more grateful than to see Gates and Rivers celebrating on the field at Levi's Stadium in February, and nothing gets the team closer to that than signing Mathis.

Please. I'm begging you. Turn us back into fans and get us away from the political nonsense. We will follow you wherever you want to take us, as long as you give us some damn hope.

Sign Evan Mathis. He is our hope, as Chargers fans.