The San Diego Chargers may consider a Philip Rivers trade with the Tennessee Titans for the right to draft Marcus Mariota this offseason and it comes as the team has worked out the former Oregon quarterback and as teams like the Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins have also shown interest.
The Buccaneers are expected to draft Jameis Winston number one overall and that has put the attention on Mariota for teams looking for a quarterback. According to Jason Cole at Bleacher Report, the idea of the Chargers moving up to take Mariota is growing "stronger and stronger" as time goes on and the team likely would have to trade Rivers to get a deal done. Cole writes that the move could include more than just Rivers and the No. 17 overall pick, calling it "just a start".
The number two pick is a valuable selection because of Mariota and looking at what the Redskins gave up to take Robert Griffin, the Chargers will have to sacrifice some picks. Having Rivers changes things a bit though, as the team will be giving up a franchise quarterback in the trade if that happens. While more draft picks could be involved, it may not take an extra number one or number two because Rivers would likely be in the deal. The Titans will have suitors for the pick and they could consider other options, including Jay Cutler or a deal worth the Browns.
The talk about Mariota and the Chargers' interest has been around for most of the offseason, but the potential of trading Rivers makes the deal very significant for the Titans and what happens to Mariota. According to Kevin Acee at UT San Diego, the Chargers are "serious" about their interest in Mariota and the team could look at trading Rivers if they feel Mariota is the right fit. The team worked out Mariota in Oregon and with Rivers' future a bit uncertain right now, San Diego could decide to move on.
Rivers is coming into the final year of his contract and so far the team has not signed him to an extension. While that doesn't mean Rivers will be traded, it does leave his future a bit unsecure and that could add to the rumors about a potential trade. Rivers is making a nice chunk of money with a $17 million cap hit coming up this season, but the Titans have over $20 million remaining in cap space and could afford that.
Adding to the potential of a trade is Rivers' connection with Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Rivers had Whisenhunt as his offensive coordinator in San Diego in 2013 and he ended up putting up some of the best numbers of his career that year. Rivers set a high in completion percentage and he had some of his best totals in passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
Jason Cole at Bleacher Report writes that Rivers "believes the Chargers are "not going to pay him," and that could be a factor in the potential move. Rivers has not signed an extension and has made it clear he doesn't want to move to LA, putting his future ion SD in question.