As of right now, every indication out of San Diego is that running back LaDainian Tomlinson will not be traded this offseason and will be in a Chargers uniform in 2009.
LaDainian Tomlinson’s future with the Chargers might be the most discussed non-Super Bowl story of the week. And it took another interesting turn Thursday. In his chat on NFL.com, analyst Gil Brandt reported that Tomlinson likely will remain with San Diego in 2009.
I was with Norv Turner and Dean Spanos last night and talked at length about LT returning. Mr. Spanos led me to believe that LT would be on their team in 2009. I think the Chargers have a good team. With Merriman back that really helps that defense a lot. And Turner has made some coaching changes. One of the keys to their team next year will be how LT Marcus McNeil plays and if he rebounds from a poor 2008.
The Chargers keeping LT is a no-brainer. Given Tomlinson’s poor 2008 campaign, his 2009 cap charge of $6.725 million is hefty. But the point is he’s still under contract and Darren Sproles isn’t a featured back so if the team could have them both in their backfield again next season (the Chargers would have to re-sign Sproles because he’s a free agent), they’d be in pretty good shape. And maybe LT will restructure his contract and allow San Diego to keep Sproles.
Clearly the Chargers didn’t think LT was finished heading into 2008 or else they would have made a better attempt to hang onto Michael Turner. So why dump LT now after one year? He’s a hard worker and he knows his career is now on the downside. San Diego should show him some loyalty and hopefully he repays you with a bounce back in 2009.
