The Melvin Gordon Saga - Holdout Over

[powderblueboy]

Right. Commitment to the fans and his teammates. That's what I meant. We got some activity going on here again. Thanks MG.

Are the fans committed to Gordon? Just go back a few pages on this thread & you'll read very few fans who were voicing there interest in resigning him. Most view running backs as expendable, and not worth a 2nd contract. Many were already getting riled up that he wanted David Johnson type money. Screw them!

[jubei]

if he is dug in then I guess it's time to move on and start new game plan without him. like others have mentioned we were 4-0 without him. his production will be missed but what if one of the other guys are given their chance and they actually shine? They havent been given a ton of reps to shine yet IMO. Hopefully JJ or DB can be the majority rock toter and be productive.

[Caslon]

if he is dug in then I guess it's time to move on and start new game plan without him. .

Oh please...not RB by committee, lol.

Reminder: NFL network replaying last years Chargers vs. Steelers tonight from last season, 12:00AM. They rarely replay the Chargers.

[powderblueboy]

Gordon may unintentionally or is intentionally trying to upset the apple cart. Wrong team ownership to try that on. Hehe, ask AJ Smith.

Financially, he's probably better off sitting out the year. Does any one remember Rod Bernstein. He was drafted as a tight end, but the Chargers used him at running back to good success. The problem was that he wouldn't play injured. This angered management and they didn't resign him as a free agent. He ended up getting a big contract with the Denver Broncos (and promptly disappeared).

[Caslon]

Not to mention that MG may be distancing himself from his teammates by thinking of himself too much as a commodity. The truth is...so are the Chargers. That's show biz. I'd rather this all play out in private. Nix the court of public opinion for now, MG. Eheh...too late.

[Fleet]

I wonder if he would play if they simply gave him a bonus this year? Maybe add 3M on top of the 5M? We are sitting around 10M under. Maybe Rivers sacrifices some of his cash to get it into Gordons hands? Keep the team together for the SB run this year sort of thing?

Kind of willing to do what it takes to get him to play this year. But not willing to pay him huge money on a new contract. Simply because i really like the RBs that should be available in the draft next year.

[richpjr]

No NFL team is committed to "honoring" these contracts; they often cut players well before the rookie contract expires if they don't live up to expectations. Gordon is one injury away from ending his career, and if he risks a future contract out of devotion to the team, Telesco and other GMs will still take a very cold blooded attitude about his 'honorable' conduct. What can you produce for us next year?

The players sign the contracts fully aware that the only thing the team is obligated to pay them is the guaranteed part of the contract. The injury risk also works against the team - just ask the Rams how nervous they are about the guaranteed money they owe Gurley with his arthritic knee. If his knee is as bad again this year as at the end of last year they are royally screwed. Yes the league is a cold heartless place with a high risk of injury - and the players are very well compensated for the risk.

[richpjr]

I wonder if he would play if they simply gave him a bonus this year? Maybe add 3M on top of the 5M? We are sitting around 10M under. Maybe Rivers sacrifices some of his cash to get it into Gordons hands? Keep the team together for the SB run this year sort of thing?

Kind of willing to do what it takes to get him to play this year. But not willing to pay him huge money on a new contract. Simply because i really like the RBs that should be available in the draft next year.

I'd be very surprised at something like this as his camp has already broken out the disrespect card and ran to the press with it.

[Steve]

What do you mean by commitment? Gordon is not legally bound to play football this year. He has a talent and will finally get the opportunity to market it next year. It makes absolute sense that he not risk a 20 - 30 million dollar signing bonus next year for $5 million this year. If i were him, that's what i would do. He has no moral obligation to do otherwise...zero.

I am not sure Gordon's performance alone is going to justify the big contract. It is going to be determined how other teams judge it (not just us), and three other players will be a big part in determining that.

This season is a big one for several reasons. There are 3 NFL RB who make way more than everyone else (Todd Gurley, LaVeon Bell and David Johnson). All 3 of those players are at interesting positions in their deals. Bell just got a dump truck full of money from NYJ, but he is going to have to prove to people he still has it after missing a year. Gurley has the knee thing going on, so people will be looking at the Rams to see how that plays out. Johnson hasn't played much in the last couple of years.

Add in the fact that statistically, RB is the most likely position to be injured and miss time. We have to have several RB on the roster no matter what. You cannot rely on an RB to stay healthy. That has salary cap ramifications. The big 3 will be indicators to how much of a problem having big money RB can be. And remember, in this next couple of seasons, we have a lot of cap space, but even more in terms of obligations coming up.

In the end, it is about putting the best team on the field. MG3 is a very good RB, but how well has it worked running him behind an OL that is not very good? How about playing for a team that is forced to throw a lot because we are in constant shootouts because we can't stop teams from scoring.

[Caslon]

Gordon really has "come on" in the last 2 years. Before that? Meh. He DOES show that he's progressing dramatically. Whether that warrants him demanding something like Weddle did after many fruitful years as a Charger remains an issue. Gordon may be a key element to this seasons offensive success, but he's no Weddle in terms of how long Weddle was here and how great he did. I guess times are changing. Gordon seems to me to be pressing the matter. If only he didn't take years to get to whatever seemingly great potential he has at the moment, he would have a lot more clout.

Still tho...he IS progressing as a cowbell RB. It just took him a year or two to finally get up to speed. He should consider that, so should management.

[Panamamike]

The only teams that have spent huge money on RB were teams with rookie or locked in low QB contracts. Atl wuth Ryan and Freeman was the only high priced rb with a high priced QB. and of course he has beem plagued with injury since signing.

[Budsman]

I was never been a huge fan of Gordon, I think he's a good back but not great. It feels like the organization sees that too. If this were LT they pay him. The Chargers have a lot of decisions to make coming up and paying big money to an oft injured running back may not be in the cards.

While I hope we don't overpay him I also am bummed he could t have just played out his contract. This was the year we had the depth at skill positions to get it done. That being said I just rewatched the kc game and the pit game where we didn't have Gordon and the three headed monster of Newsome, Jackson and Eckler were actually pretty good.