The Melvin Gordon Saga - Holdout Over

[wu-dai clan]

Ya I was at the TC today and saw the hit. It looked like Kyle Wilson #56. Wilson didn't really let up much on the hit. Hopefully nothing serious but he did look hobbled afterwards.

After watching the recording I took of it, looks like newsome's right foot was planted when he took the hit and his body rotated to his right.

Thank you for the report.
Yep it's a sprain.
Kyle you nimrod.

[Critty]

If Gordon hold out into season and Ekeler, Jackson and others do great getting the opportunity next to a pro like Rivers, does he give up then and sign for the Chargers price?

[Boltjolt]

He will be back week 10 if he doesn't sign or he will be in this same situation the following year

[Fleet]

Yeah id probably look at the splits. How many times has Gordon beat up a D only to have Ekeler come in and clean up. I honestly dont know the numbers. I wonder what Eks 1st quarter stats look like compared to 4th quarter. Does he go up in average in the 4th?

The other thing is this run game is built around Gordon. So with these back ups having a full camp as the lead guys we can structure plays and blocking schemes that best suit their abilities.

Ekeler ran a lot of Melvins runs last year when he got the full time shot and it didnt exactly work for him. Justin did better with those plays. So we can still use Jackson with the Melvin type plays and maybe start adding early down run plays that will best suit Eks skillset.

Food for thought.

[dmac_bolt]

Eke better than Gordon? That's absurd. Don't let stats that can't be compared be compared. Ekeler hasn't played as a starting primary RB, his stats are not the same stats. Your eyes have seen it - Gordon > Ekeler.

[JupiterBolt]

Ive heard rumblings that MG3 ramped up his holdout after Okung got hurt. I hope that's not the case! If it is, it is unforgivable.

[Topcat]

Thank you for the report.
Yep it's a sprain.
Kyle you nimrod.

Yep. Kyle "Friendly Fire" Wilson is Addae 2.0...

[Big Dog]

This will cause some heads on here to explode. Is Austin Ekeler better than Melvin Gordon? (This writer thinks so.)

https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/201...-melvin-gordon

[Panamamike]

I think his holdout is all EGO...driven by his comparisons vs a vis Gurley as it goes all the way back to the draft and he still thinks he is the better back of the 2.

i have Kamara in my top tier.

[Sgt. Pepper]

After giving this some thought and looking into the fifth year option, my point of view has evolved somewhat. I do still believe that Gordon over inflates his value as a player. However I have come to view the fifth year option as inherently unfair to the player, particularly running backs, whose careers are so short. The 5th year option allows ownership to tie up a player through his prime years, in the case of running backs, diminishing their ability to land a second contract. First round picks such as Gordon who fulfill or exceed expectations and become premium players are punished because teams get to keep them for an extra year at a relatively low salary. Gordon's holdout is really not a failure to fulfill his contract. He has no control over the team's decision to exercise the fifth year option. It's actually a catch-22 for a player like Gordon. By not reporting to camp, the team doesn't have the ability to pursue breach of contract against Gordon. That is a part of the CBA. They can can fine him, but failing to report to camp it's not legally breach of contract. I hope the players union is able to get the 5th year option written out of the next CBA. With ownership being able to use the franchise tag as well, it's just not fair to the players.
I do not hold ill will against Gordon. However I do believe the best thing for him is to really learn what his value is and continue to negotiate with the team for a second contract that gives him some security and doesn't put the team in cap jeopardy. I am confident there is a middle ground that can bring Gordon back into the fold. The two sides just have to continue working together to find it.

[Topcat]

Chargers are a SB contender and he thinks he has leverage
Next year MORE important guys will be up for contracts

Overall, arguably even at 5.6 million he is being paid what he is worth ... the 10th highest paid RB in the NFL.

If there was a draft of all RB's in the NFL it right now it would go Barkley, Bell, Elliot, Gurley, as the top tier and then its Freeman, Gordon, mcCaffery, Kamala, Henry and Hunt in the next tier.

Also, the 4th/5th year is the last top year of a RB career and then they drop off the face of the earth ... go to NFL.com and sort the RB stats by 6th year and see the names that come up absolutely shocking !!!

if we weren't a good team, he wouldn't be able to hold out

Yep. Gordon is kind of like the goofy "best" man at the wedding ceremony who has the ring, then when the minister says, "can we have the ring please," Mr. Goofy puts on the fake stalling act, pretending he can't find it. Meanwhile, the bride, the mother of the bride and just about everyone else, nearly has a heart attack that he would be such a jerk to misplace it. Then, at the last moment, he pulls it out of his pocket with a silly smile. A bad joke, that's what Gordon is...right when the Chargers are locked and loaded with their best team in years, ready for a real SB run, and he pulls this holdout stunt and bails on them...

[Topcat]

After giving this some thought and looking into the fifth year option, my point of view has evolved somewhat. I do still believe that Gordon over inflates his value as a player. However I have come to view the fifth year option as inherently unfair to the player, particularly running backs, whose careers are so short. The 5th year option allows ownership to tie up a player through his prime years, in the case of running backs, diminishing their ability to land a second contract. First round picks such as Gordon who fulfill or exceed expectations and become premium players are punished because teams get to keep them for an extra year at a relatively low salary. Gordon's holdout is really not a failure to fulfill his contract. He has no control over the team's decision to exercise the fifth year option. It's actually a catch-22 for a player like Gordon. By not reporting to camp, the team doesn't have the ability to pursue breach of contract against Gordon. That is a part of the CBA. They can can fine him, but failing to report to camp it's not legally breach of contract. I hope the players union is able to get the 5th year option written out of the next CBA. With ownership being able to use the franchise tag as well, it's just not fair to the players.
I do not hold ill will against Gordon. However I do believe the best thing for him is to really learn what his value is and continue to negotiate with the team for a second contract that gives him some security and doesn't put the team in cap jeopardy. I am confident there is a middle ground that can bring Gordon back into the fold. The two sides just have to continue working together to find it.

Sarge, I understand some of what you're saying here. Yes, you could make the argument that Gordon is underpaid. However, there's one detail we all need to keep in mind here: HE SIGNED THE CONTRACT. He KNEW when he wrote his name on the dotted line, that the team had and has a 5th year option PLUS the option to franchise tag afterwards. When you sign a CONTRACT, both sides are obligated to keep their word, or there are consequences.

Suppose I sign a CONTRACT to buy a car, and take out a loan over 5 years. What if the car gets kind of beat up after 4 years, and needs new tires, brakes, a radiator, etc. Do I then go to the dealership and DEMAND a new car? Do I DEMAND they refund my money? No, it doesn't work that way. This is the real world, where people sign contracts all the time.

Suppose I stop making payments on my car, while demanding the dealer give me new tires, something that wasn't in the original contract? Will they do it? Nope. In fact, after a few months of non-payment, the account goes into delinquency, and the car gets repossessed. You don't honor your contract, there are consequences. If Gordon doesn't show up for TC and games, he gets fined. Those are the consequences, all spelled out in the contract and/or the NFL CBA. If Gordon doesn't like his deal, tough...finish your current deal, and then test the market...