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Chargers RB Melvin Gordon demands new contract or trade, report says

Running back says he will skip training camp and demand a trade if doesn’t receive a contract extension

By GILBERT MANZANO | gmanzano@scng.com |
PUBLISHED: July 11, 2019 at 7:50 am | UPDATED: July 11, 2019 at 7:57 am

Chargers running back Melvin Gordon fidgeted at the podium last month when he addressed reporters about his contract situation. His words didn’t say much, but his facial expressions said it all.

Gordon didn’t appear like a content player then. He’s now making it clear with his words.

Gordon has informed the Chargers he plans to skip training camp and will demand a trade if he doesn’t receive a contract extension before the team reports July 24, his agent Fletcher Smith told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

According to the report, Gordon and his agent didn’t want to go this route, but felt it necessary because of the lack of progress the two sides have made.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a deal done,” Gordon said about his contract situation last month at mandatory minicamp. “That’s not going to stop me from coming out here and doing what I need to do. We’re going to see. I would like to go out there and have it done, but we’re talking right now and that’s where I’m going to leave it.”

Gordon skipped the Chargers’ voluntary offseason program. He’s owed $5.6 million on the final year of his rookie contract.

More to come on this story …

This story (along with the Le'Veon Bell story) provides a good counterpoint to those who lament signing Todd Gurley to a long-term deal. Yes, there was risk in giving him that deal, but not paying upper-tier RBs can also have adverse consequences.

BTW, Gordon is currently on his 5th year option which pays 5.6 mil...

AvengerRam wrote:This story (along with the Le'Veon Bell story) provides a good counterpoint to those who lament signing Todd Gurley to a long-term deal. Yes, there was risk in giving him that deal, but not paying upper-tier RBs can also have adverse consequences.

It's interesting, also shows how expendable RBs are. Important as they can be, as big of stars as some of them are, 5 years is probably plenty with most of these guys...

Elvis wrote:It's interesting, also shows how expendable RBs are. Important as they can be, as big of stars as some of them are, 5 years is probably plenty with most of these guys...

One can make the argument that the best course of action with RBs is to keep bringing in new guys on rookie deals, but when you get an elite guy like a Gurley, finding a comparable replacement can be easier said than done.

We'll see the Cowboys face this issue with Elliott soon, and some day the Saints (Kamara), Giants (Barkley) and others will too.

Rams giving that big deal to Gurley doesn't seem so bad. Some thought no running back was worth that. But the Rams don't have to deal with the uncertainty of a hold out. The way the Chargers balked at Joey Bosa his rookie year makes me think they can be stubborn when it comes to negotiating.