Ekeler: Negotiated Incentives for 2023 Contract Year

[CanadianBoltFan]

I’d only correct your post to say that he has more than proven he can take the beating between the tackle, he just can’t consistently gain the tough short yard on his own when the box is stacked - he is just not big enough/ strong enough to move a 300 lb DL for one yard.

Bijan can do that and do everything else Eke does too. People scoff but I’m tellin y’all - the next LT

Don't get too excited about Bijan.

I am reading reports that Eagles are meeting with him and may be taking him at 10

[Topcat]

it was interesting to hear him speak about the issue. he sounded pretty reasonable to me. His point of emphasis is a long-term deal, not a monster deal per year. it does make sense that he does not want to play on a "lame duck" contract. if he had a 2nd or even 3rd year that were on par with this year's compensation, he might be good. I don't really have a problem with his approach or what he is asking for. we will see....

A long-term deal...and this is precisely one of the key issues which is driving salary caps into the stratosphere and forcing teams to cut players, even before their contract ends...I'm guessing more and more teams will start shying away from bloated, megabank deals that blow the lid off the cap...and for 2nd and 3rd contracts, we may see a lot more 2-3 year deals with outs...

[charger1_sj]

I never said Kelly was a replacement to Ekeler he was an acknowledgement that he is incomplete and we need a bigger back to compliment Ekeler, which isn’t a secret even Ekeler has admitted it.

it is funny how you admit the had to draft a 3rd round back to help Ekeler then talk about him being multidimensional, lol. Ekeler is what he is an over hyped 3rd down back not big enough to take the beating of running between the tackles. No amount of spinning can convince me that the guy who was the chargers number one back for two years but couldn’t break 1k rushing yards in a season is multidimensional.

Oh and can you stop pretending that Ekeler is even close to CMC in skill. CMC has 3 seasons of over 1k rushing and one of those seasons he had 1300r and 1000k receiving yards. The guy can run between the tackles better than Ekeler and is a bigger recieving threat than Ekeler. He’s admittedly glass but that’s not the argument his actual skill set is better than Ekelers.

lol, Ekeler doesn’t deserve more money than he is getting paid. He’s probably overpaid frankly and no one wants to pay him more which is obvious from the complete lack of bites in the market. You’re worth what the market sets for you and currently the market doesn’t think he’s worth more than what he’s making at the least.

As for distractions, it’s the off-season now of course we’re going to talk about it. The padres haven’t started so I’m bored and this is interesting. If he is disgruntled then it’s an issue, and it’s not crazy to think that could be the case with his social media blunders along the way. It could be nothing and just him looking to maximize value and do the smart business move and that’s great but without knowing it begs questions and concerns. I also haven’t mentioned holdout so please don’t project other people’s concerns on me, I don’t think he’s going to hold out he has zero leverage.

Lasty, about throwing punches. I don’t understand why a public figure that makes his money through a highly public venture funded by fans is somehow not supposed to take some flack when they do something that is a tad bit controversial like requesting a trade. He makes his money from being public when he shows his ass a bit and it gets called out that also part of being a multimillionaire sports figure. No apologies from me for that ever.

Most teams are going with a 2RB system, meaning there are very few to no RBs that can run for 1000 yards with 300 carries AND gain 600 or more yards
receiving. So by your standard there are no complete RBs. If all a RB can do is run between the tackles he is not complete. That type can be stopped by
loading up the box. CMC unlike Ekeler gets hurt, a lot. So Ekeler would seem more durable. CMC stats are better but on a team whose offense does revolve
around him. The passes to CMC unlike the ones to Ekeler are designed beyond the LOS (except the srcreens), not dump offs when the QB is in trouble like the Chargers.

Actually Ekeler does deserve more money than he's making. The problem being the market for RBs is not there and the Chargers are not going to outbid
the market. Asking for more money in his last contract year is NOT controversial. That's actually the norm. Name a starter in the NFL that is in his 20's in
his last year contract? What happens in such a case: A) The team restructures the deal B) The team cuts the player C) The player plays out his contract
or holds out. D) If valuable enough the team Ftags him. E) He gets a contract with another team. Note the situation with a former MVP QB. Nobody is
signing the guy. A team signing L. Jackson would have to give up 2 1st round picks and pay him a boat load of money. That's the QB position the most
valuable in the NFL by far.

The likely outcome for Ekeler is C. There is still a chance B may prevail if the Chargers feel they get the RB they want through the draft.

[Critty]

Don't get too excited about Bijan.

I am reading reports that Eagles are meeting with him and may be taking him at 10

I have no reports to reference, but my opinion is that Telesco could easily get FOMO in this draft and trade up ahead of Eagles.

[Fouts2herbert]

The only reason to cut Ekeler now is to free up his money to sign some lower-cost free agents, like KVN or Callahan. But the Chargers could do that by restructuring another contract or two. Also, if you cut Ekeler now, you telegraph to the rest of the league that you will be drafting a running back high. That just invites another team to trade up ahead of you to grab the running back they like and they think you like. Or, you feel compelled to trade up to get that guy that likely would have fallen to you anyway (i.e., Melvin Gordon). Even if the Chargers are "done" with Ekeler (and I don't think they are), they should wait until after the draft to cut him--or maybe trade him, if a team hoping to draft a running back high lost out and now decides they want him, or there's a training camp injury.

That said, I wouldn't cut him, unless the running backs (plural) they really like in this draft fall to their picks. And even then, maybe not, since rookie running backs often take some time to learn how to sufficiently pass-block so they don't get your franchise QB killed back there.

Ekeler has one year left on his contract. He has some incentive to report on time and play hard for us so that some team signs him as a free agent next year for decent money. He's trying to create leverage where there is none, but I think he's smart enough to realize what is in his best interest to do when the last card has been played. We are getting close to that time.

Well, if RB was not on the menu in rounds 1-2 before the trade request, I’m thinking it might be now, which is unfortunate because the team was in a prime position to add much needed quality depth on defense, wr, and the o-line…this kind of screws with their original plans for the offseason

[CanadianBoltFan]

Most teams are going with a 2RB system, meaning there are very few to no RBs that can run for 1000 yards with 300 carries AND gain 600 or more yards
receiving. So by your standard there are no complete RBs. If all a RB can do is run between the tackles he is not complete. That type can be stopped by
loading up the box. CMC unlike Ekeler gets hurt, a lot. So Ekeler would seem more durable. CMC stats are better but on a team whose offense does revolve
around him. The passes to CMC unlike the ones to Ekeler are designed beyond the LOS (except the srcreens), not dump offs when the QB is in trouble like the Chargers.

Actually Ekeler does deserve more money than he's making. The problem being the market for RBs is not there and the Chargers are not going to outbid
the market. Asking for more money in his last contract year is NOT controversial. That's actually the norm. Name a starter in the NFL that is in his 20's in
his last year contract? What happens in such a case: A) The team restructures the deal B) The team cuts the player C) The player plays out his contract
or holds out. D) If valuable enough the team Ftags him. E) He gets a contract with another team. Note the situation with a former MVP QB. Nobody is
signing the guy. A team signing L. Jackson would have to give up 2 1st round picks and pay him a boat load of money. That's the QB position the most
valuable in the NFL by far.

The likely outcome for Ekeler is C. There is still a chance B may prevail if the Chargers feel they get the RB they want through the draft.

BTW Ekler said right out his own mouth in an interview he is making HALF of what he deserves. Just in case you want to keep pouring water on the 12 million ask theory floating around

[blueman]

Well, if RB was not on the menu in rounds 1-2 before the trade request, I’m thinking it might be now, which is unfortunate because the team was in a prime position to add much needed quality depth on defense, wr, and the o-line…this kind of screws with their original plans for the offseason

Not really, what team wants their first round pick to ride pine?

[charger1_sj]

I have no reports to reference, but my opinion is that Telesco could easily get FOMO in this draft and trade up ahead of Eagles.

I don't think so. According to the draft value chart it would take our 1st, 2nd and 4th to move up and take Phillys' #10. We would
get a 6th or 7th rounder in return. I wouldn't do that. If he's available by the 16th or 17th or later it could be done without giving up
so much. Who knows?

[charger1_sj]

BTW Ekler said right out his own mouth in an interview he is making HALF of what he deserves. Just in case you want to keep pouring water on the 12 million ask theory floating around

That's true and this first time we've heard it from a reliable source. However take it with a gain of salt. Who wouldn't want +$12M/yr? And that's exactly the number put up
as market value by Spotrac. Unrealistic as you know. It's really the number he would be willing to take, not what he wants that counts. His agent and Ek are not going
to say what that number is. At any rate as we've been discussing he's not getting it and may not get any multi-year deal at all until the draft and FA is over.

[electricgold]

A long-term deal...and this is precisely one of the key issues which is driving salary caps into the stratosphere and forcing teams to cut players, even before their contract ends...I'm guessing more and more teams will start shying away from bloated, megabank deals that blow the lid off the cap...and for 2nd and 3rd contracts, we may see a lot more 2-3 year deals with outs...

If he wants a long term deal he's asking for at the very least a three year contact at 30 million dollars minimum or "Trade ME"! Good luck with that.

[Fouts2herbert]

Not really, what team wants their first round pick to ride pine?

It’s not as black and white as you want to make it out to be…if they take an edge at 21, yeah, technically he won’t be a starter but he’s still going to play a ton, either because of the rotation or because mack is older and bosa can’t seem to stay on the field for long…so the smart thing is to build depth and plan ahead a bit, knowing that change is coming in 2024 ( a top shelf edge group this year too), keenan, mack, or bosa…someone is going to be traded or cut…so technically not a starter but still a huge upgrade and insurance for 2024 without knowing if the edge group will be as deep in 2024…

TE is another position that needs upgrading, a rookie TE might not start right away but perhaps might start by the end of the season…

[CanadianBoltFan]

That's true and this first time we've heard it from a reliable source. However take it with a gain of salt. Who wouldn't want +$12M/yr? And that's exactly the number put up
as market value by Spotrac. Unrealistic as you know. It's really the number he would be willing to take, not what he wants that counts. His agent and Ek are not going
to say what that number is. At any rate as we've been discussing he's not getting it and may not get any multi-year deal at all until the draft and FA is over.

I think by the way Ekler keeps reciting his production stats, he is gunning for top 5 RB money. Double his salary to 12.5 and he is tied for 4th with Henry. You can make the case he deserves it, he is just trying in the wrong market, not only for RBs but it is a slow FA market. Some top free agents are taking lower contracts and one year deals.

Most teams aren't spending big and seem to be waiting for the cap to go up next year. And very few teams are signing veteran RBs to 3rd contracts.