NBC 7's Derek Togerson attempts to free the last two San Diego Chargers in this commentary
In October, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said, "The days of the one-dimensional pocket-passing quarterback in the NFL are over."
In case you were wondering Philip Rivers is the quintessential one-dimensional pocket-passing quarterback. Rivers and Lynn have had tension at times although they claim their relationship is fine. Rivers himself can see the times changing and admits his first year in LA was nothing like the good old days.
"San Diego was such a special place and such a special time there, again we didn't win a championship, but so many memories there, and then (being) at a point in my career where I know that ... I feel like I have some good years left but I know I'm not going to be able to duplicate that here," said Rivers after the Chargers' season-ending 30-10 win over the Raiders on Sunday. "Just talking length of time and being that, just, really ingrained in the community. But I still am all in."
However, are the Chargers all-in on Rivers? Now that Lynn will have a chance to exert some control over his roster and obviously doesn't know what to do with Rivers, will the Bolts get rid of their all-time leading passer who's coming off another Pro Bowl year? It's incredibly possible.
Contractually Rivers is due a $5 million roster bonus on March 16. If the Chargers decide to cut him he'll count $14 million against the salary cap, an $8 million savings in 2018. We all know how notoriously cheap the Spanos clan is and pocketing that kind of payroll would make them drool. But here's the problem:
If the Bolts think they're close enough to be a championship contender, something else Lynn has also stated publicly, can they afford to make a quarterback change?
No rookie starting QB has ever won a Super Bowl. Maybe they can ply Lynn favorite Tyrod Taylor out of Buffalo but with the Bills back in the playoffs for the first time since 1999 they'll have a serious PR nightmare not bringing him back. The Chargers have a head coach who has said he does not think they have the optimal option at the most important position on the field without a clear-cut backup plan and that is a dangerous game to be playing.
Plus consider that if he hits the open market the division-rival Denver Broncos would be on the short-short list of teams that make a run at Rivers and the last thing the Chargers would want is a team that has just about all the pieces except a QB getting its hands on that guy.
And what about Philip's better football half? The contract of tight end Antonio Gates is up but he said on Sunday that he would entertain the idea of coming back.
"As you get up in age you need to go out and physically do it," said Gates. "I have a little saying that I say to my kids: I still got the juice. That's something that I've been saying to my kids and it's just fun to be able to go out and make plays and win football games."
At age 37 he finished the season with two solid games after Hunter Henry suffered a lacerated spleen. Gates is not the every-down feature guy anymore but he’s still a threat who can impact a game in spurts. Think of it like what the Padres have in Yangervis Solarte: For a week or 10 days Yan can be your starting shortstop. But he doesn’t have the skill set to handle the position 162 games a year.
That’s now Gates. When used sparingly he can still beat 1-on-1 coverage and be a game-breaker but he’s no longer 70-catch, 800-yard, 9 touchdown machine he once was. With Henry a good bet to return at 100% from his injury the Chargers have shown no indication they want Gates back. However someone else in the NFL might.
In fact the Patriots have a history of bringing in veterans for one final go of it (they just did it with former Steelers stalwart James Harrison) and Bill Belichick has always gushed about number 85.
“He’s big and he’s athletic and he’s got great hands, so he makes a lot of outstanding catches,” said Belichick before the Chargers played the Pats in October of 2017. “But, he has a very deceptive and very patient style of route running, so he’s kind of subtle and then explosive at coming out of the break or to get the ball at the right time. Gates is a hard guy to defend and it’s not by the book. He’s got a very unique way of doing it but very, very effective. So, yeah, he’s still a dangerous player.”
Translation: put him with Tom Brady as another 3rd down option and Antonio Gates can still beat you. Plus have him line up with Rob Gronkowski and defensive coordinators would be reaching for the Rogaine. So I asked Gates what he would do if New England called.
"You're talking about, historically, a really good franchise," said Gates after chuckling somewhat uncomfortably. "Those guys have won so many championships so when you entertain those ideas, a championship is priority and it's always entertaining but for me, I would love to win one here. That would be a priority for me but at the end of the day winning a Super Bowl is a priority."
For Gates and Rivers, yes, winning a Super Bowl is a priority. For the Spanos family, no, it obviously is not. So the best chance for the franchise staples to do it is to go somewhere else, and when the only two guys that a lot of San Diego fans were still rooting for are gone? Well those tiny crowds that were actually in Carson to foot for the Chargers will be even smaller.
Do not put it past this dysfunctional and tone-deaf front office to do it.
