Rivers ponders future with Chargers

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

[homeless simpson]

we won't get a stadium if Rivers leaves....we haven't gotten a stadium even when he was in his prime or even LT when he was in his prime.

we won't get a stadium if the team is rebuilding or losing. the team didn't get a stadium even when they became a contender for almost a decade.

[Mister Hoarse]

http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2015...s-in-san-diego

Philip Rivers wants the Chargers in San Diego

El Capitan just struck the biggest blow for keeping the Chargers in San Diego.

Kevin Acee of the UT San Diego published a rather remarkable article yesterday, regarding Philip Rivers and his current lack of interest in signing a long-term extension with the Chargers. First, consider the quote provided by General Manager Tom Telesco, following the end of the 2014 Regular Season:



It seems to me the Chargers were very clear about wanting Rivers to stick around. However, this is what Rivers said in the Acee article yesterday:



That quote was followed by this quote:



Quotes like these coming from Rivers is unprecedented.

Rivers is very much a team-first guy. He doesn't like to embarrass the organization, he doesn't like to create controversy, and he doesn't exert leverage like this publicly.

Which means Rivers does not want to play for the Los Angeles Chargers. Period.

So, where does this leave the Chargers?

In a bad spot, honestly. Here are the reasons why.

1. The Chargers do not currently have an heir apparent on the roster, which means if they can't persuade Rivers to stay past 2015, they'll need to find a new starting QB.
2. There are currently no Free Agent QBs worth pursuing.
3. The 2014 draft class has 1 advanced talent at QB (Florida State's Jameis Winston), one high-risk, high-reward talent at QB (Oregon's Marcus Mariota), and then a lot of question marks.
4. The Chargers are drafting at 17 in the 1st Round, and both Winston and Mariota will likely be off the board by that time.
5. Rivers declaring openly that he doesn't want to play in Los Angeles lowers his potential trade value.
6. Because of his pending Free Agency in 2016, Rivers has what amounts to a no-trade clause (i.e. no team will give up big assets for Rivers without some assurance he'll sign an extension).
7. The Chargers will have a much harder time selling a stadium to the public in San Diego if Rivers is off-loaded as part of a Los Angeles contingency plan.
8. The Chargers, already the least popular of the 3 potential Los Angeles possibilities, will be an even harder sell in Los Angeles if they go from a 8-10 win playoff contender to a 3-6 win rebuilding team.

If nothing else, Rivers' lack of interest in Los Angeles is clearly the reason the Chargers have scheduled a private workout with Mariota in the next few weeks. They haven't scheduled anything with Winston as of yet, either because they know they can't draft him (i.e. Tampa Bay has already made it clear they're taking him 1st, or the Chargers are scared off by Winston's off-field issues).

Also, I'd like to think Chargers Owner Dean Spanos would have made sure the most important asset of his franchise was on-board with going to Los Angeles BEFORE he made his play for Los Angeles, because the team could have moved Rivers earlier (i.e. before he went public) and retained maximum leverage.

Consider the following possibilities:

If everything goes well in San Diego, the Chargers stay put and Rivers is either signed to an extension through 2020, or is Franchise Tagged in 2016.

On the other hand, here's Spanos' worst nightmare: The Chargers aren't able to draft Winston or Mariota, San Diego's citizens give Spanos the middle finger over Rivers' departure following the 2015 season, and then Kroenke wins the race to Los Angeles.

In Closing

Dean Spanos is between a rock and a hard place with the stadium business, and the effects have finally hit the football operations side of the franchise.

Telesco has to secure the future of the franchise, which means he has to put Rivers on the trade block and see what he can get for him before the draft.

If the Chargers move Rivers for either Winston or Mariota (or less), the Chargers will face a fan revolt in San Diego, just as the Citizens' Stadium Advisory Group (CSAG) is about to release a financing plan. As bad as that is, imagine if the Chargers can't land Winston or Mariota, Rivers leaves San Diego in 2016 over the uncertainty with Los Angeles, and the Rams get to Los Angeles first, killing all of Spanos' leverage and what little goodwill is left in San Diego disappears.

Philip Rivers just made the first real power play of his San Diego career, and whether he intended it or not, it was a play to keep the franchise in San Diego.

I don't know this Jeff Siniard, but he absolutely nailed that piece.

[Sec-E4]

To the people out here its both. I live, and have lived for over 20 years, out here where PR grew up and spends a good part of the offseason. No way he considers LA. Bank it. I'll take your bet. PR doesn't play mind games or issue cryptic messages. He's an open book and means what he says. He hides nothing. If the team moves to LA it will be the end of the SD Chargers in more ways than 1.

Oh, to say that SD isn't that much different than LA is ludicrous :ban:

Wow dude....Really?

I love San Diego too, But to say what your saying about LA is really naive. Sounds like you've watched 1 to many movies.

[Sec-E4]

There was just breaking news:

The Chargers just announced that Rivers isn't going anywhere. So this thread can be locked up

This Christian Cowboy is staying in SD

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Not so fast... Who is Rivers Agent? I think he has more smarts than that...

[richpjr]

Wow dude....Really?

I love San Diego too, But to say what your saying about LA is really naive. Sounds like you've watched 1 to many movies.

I agree with him. I live just north of San Diego and spend a lot of time in LA and you couldn't pay me to live there.

[oneinchpunch]

I agree with him. I live just north of San Diego and spend a lot of time in LA and you couldn't pay me to live there.

Live where?

What parts of LA that people think are great would you be unwilling to get paid to live there?

[TTK]

I agree with him. I live just north of San Diego and spend a lot of time in LA and you couldn't pay me to live there.

I'm with you, Rich.

I recently got laid off and am job hunting now (San Diego has very little opportunities in my field) and there are much better opportunities in LA but I totally identify with Philip. There is no way I'm moving up there, especially with a child to raise. I'd rather change careers and stay in San Diego. I've had co-workers who have had to move to LA for jobs and they couldn't wait to get back to San Diego. I just met up with a friend last week who found a job back down here and he was on cloud nine.

Obviously, not everyone is going to feel that way but I do know a lot of people here that do.

[Sec-E4]

Every city and county has it shitty places....I get it , I prefer to live in SD, But if I got a nice job offer in LA I'd take it.. There is other county's that are close by that are nice and you can commute to LA, You don't have to live in the heart of LA..You dudes sound like living in skid row is the only option. Damn LoL....You guys must of visited the garment district or some sketchy places to be that Scared of LA ?!?!?!?!

You make it sound like you're gonna get alley raped and wake up in a bath tub :-/

And to think Nick Hardwick thought the Chargers were soft ;-) I'm sorry but you guys are coming off like the boy in the plastic bubble

[TTK]

Every city and county has it shitty places....I get it , I prefer to live in SD, But if I got a nice job offer in LA I'd take it.. There is other county's that are close by that are nice and you can commute to LA, You don't have to live in the heart of LA..You dudes sound like living in skid row is the only option. Damn LoL....You guys must of visited the garment district or some sketchy places to be that Scared of LA ?!?!?!?!

You make it sound like you're gonna get alley raped and wake up in a bath tub :-/

And to think Nick Hardwick thought the Chargers were soft ;-) I'm sorry but you guys are coming off like the boy in the plastic bubble

I'm quite familiar with LA. I've been there so many times that I lost count back in the 90s. It has more to do with the traffic hell that plagues LA, not so much the ratty areas up there (I wouldn't be living or going to those areas). But just like death and taxes, you can't avoid traffic in LA.

[Sec-E4]

I'm quite familiar with LA. I've been there so many times that I lost count back in the 90s. It has more to do with the traffic hell that plagues LA, not so much the ratty areas up there (I wouldn't be living or going to those areas). But just like death and taxes, you can't avoid traffic in LA.

I 100% agree...I was living in Escondido and traffic on the 15 wasn't to bad, Now I'm on Oceanside and I'm not liking the 5's traffic :-/ So I wouldn't be digging any LA traffic