The Los Angeles Chargers held their first official workout since relocating from San Diego to Los Angeles, however, the voluntary workout didn’t happen in Los Angeles, instead it happened at Chargers Park in San Diego.
Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers, who has spent all of his 14 NFL seasons in San Diego, said driving into Chargers Park as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers felt “weird.”
When asked about practicing for the first time as the Los Angeles Chargers, defensive lineman Brandon Mebane said “It might be strange for guys who’ve been here a long time.”
Guys like Antonio Gates, who like Rivers has spent his whole career with the Chargers in San Diego, “The majority of my NFL memories will be here in San Diego. It’s an unbelievable fan base here. Hopefully the San Diego Chargers fan base will come support us in Los Angeles.”
Rivers said after the initial “weird” feelings faded away, the football familiarity returned, “It’s weird in a sense, but then it’s not because it’s what we’ve always done. For the most part it felt the same, going to our same locker room, same weight room, different guys around but very similar.”
On January 12th, Chargers Chairman of the Board Dean Spanos announced the decision to move to Los Angeles in a letter that was posted the teams Twitter account, saying “we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers.”
“The Chargers are determined to fight for LA and we are excited to get started.”
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New Head Coach Anthony Lynn wasn’t on the field during the portion of practice that was open to the media, nor did Lynn speak with the media, but Chargers players liked what they saw and heard from their new coach.
“I thought it went well. You can tell Coach Lynn is going to have great command of the room and the team, and he has great energy that I think will filter in,” said Rivers.
The Chargers will continue to practice and work out at Chargers Park in San Diego through June, before transitioning to the team’s training facility in Orange County.
