2015 San Diego Chargers: The end of the Philip Rivers era?

I think we, as fans of the San Diego Chargers, may have a problem.

It was about a week ago when it was reported that the Chargers were hoping to sign Philip Rivers to a long-term contract extension before the start of training camp. Here's what I said about that:

Chargers training camp kicks off on July 30th, so that gives the team about 8 days to get something done to stay within their timeline.

My feeling on this is not unusual. The Chargers don't want to look like buffoons, or at all "out of control", so I doubt that they would set this public timeline for negotiations unless they were certain that they would be able to meet it. I'd be surprised if, come August, Rivers wasn't locked into a contract that kept him with the Chargers for the rest of his career.

Well, training camp kicks off tomorrow morning. How are those contract negotiations coming along?

Philip Rivers won't "slam door" on deal getting done soon. But says he won't let it "linger" very long into camp. https://t.co/7pjoPJeoWp

— UTKevinAcee (@UTKevinAcee) July 29, 2015

That blows. It sounds like the two sides aren't close to a deal, my prediction was wrong (good thing I didn't bet on eating a piece of headwear again) and that Philip Rivers could be shutting down negotiations and heading into the final year of his contract with the team sometime in the next few weeks.

On the bright side, maybe all the talk about the Chargers this season won't be focused on the stadium. The media can also talk about Rivers, Antonio Gates, and Eric Weddle playing out their final contract year and moving on to another team next season.