The San Diego Chargers may try and sign Philip Rivers to a contract extension after he was not trade this offseason and heading into training camp rookie Melvin Gordon could get the chance to start over Donald Brown and Danny Woodhead, while safety Eric Weddle may be absent while dealing with a holdout in his contract situation for 2015.
The Chargers offseason has been filled with speculation about Rivers, but with OTA workouts starting, he is firmly in place as the San Diego quarterback. Rivers was mentioned quite a bit in trade rumors, as the Chargers were connected to Marcus Mariota during the NFL draft process. Rivers' contract situation played into it, as he is coming into the final year of his deal and has said that he does not want to play in Los Angeles if the team moves.
All that uncertainty led to Rivers coming up in trade rumors for the number two pick to the Tennessee Titans, but no deal came close to happening. The Titans wanted too much for a deal for the number two pick, according to Peter King at the MMQB. Now Rivers could be ready to stay, as the Union-Tribune San Diego reports that he is "willing to listen" to a contract extension offer from the team. Rivers may look at a shorter type deal than most quarterbacks to the LA uncertainty, but he also said he has no issue playing out his contract.
Eli Manning is also in the final year of his deal and the other big QB in the 2004 class, Ben Roethlisberger, just signed an extension with the Steelers. Both Manning and Rivers could play out their deals this year, but most around the league expect the players to remain in their current cities. Rivers likely will not be on the trade block again after the Mariota deal did not work out, but if the Chargers get a good enough offer, he could be in line to get moved if he doesn't want to stay in San Diego long term.
The Chargers took Melvin Gordon in the first round and the team is very excited about what he can bring to the offense in 2015. Gordon was the second running back off the board behind Todd Gurley and some had him rated higher due to Gurley's knee issues. The Chargers traded up two spots to get Gordon and now he could be the starter after Ryan Mathews left to sign with the Eagles.
The team has Branden Oliver, Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown, but Gordon is the best natural runner of that bunch. The other backs are strong catching the ball and that is not the strong suit for Gordon and that could have him enter training camp as the featured back. The position is deep with that group on the roster and with Woodhead and Brown both injury prone, Gordon should get the chance to start right away.
Eric Weddle has remained away from team activities and he is looking to get a new contract. According to the UT San Diego, Weddle does not plan on coming to any team activities in the offseason or showing up in training camp without a new deal. Weddle is one of the most versatile safeties in the league and he could holdout through the summer if he remains unhappy.
