With Michael Thomas inking a record-breaking extension in New Orleans, there are only a few significant NFL holdouts remaining as we enter August — and get our first look at almost real football on Thursday night with the Hall of Fame game.
Among those still sitting out while seeking a new contract is Melvin Gordon, the star running back of the L.A. Chargers who is looking to get a deal more in line with his production. The Chargers are apparently willing to give Gordon a deal worth about $10 million annually, but Gordon seems to be looking for something more in line with what elite backs like Le’Veon Bell and Todd Gurley have gotten recently ($13-14 million per year).
As the Chargers seem adamant about not going over their figure, Gordon’s agent has decided to request a trade and make that request public, as he informed Josina Anderson of ESPN that the request had been formally made but that he had not gotten permission to seek trade packages from other teams.
Chargers RB Melvin Gordon's agent Damarius Bilbo tells me he requested a trade last wk for his client, after the team remained at their initial offer of aprox $10M/ year. GM Tom Telesco told Bilbo, Gordon is still family, but Bilbo was not given permission to seek trade partners.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 1, 2019
[Cont.] Last year, Bilbo was able to successfully convince the Miami Dolphins to move client WR Jarvis Landry on a tag & trade, to alleviate the valuation constraints and differences that he similarly faces now with Gordon and the Chargers. As of now, the stalemate remains.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 1, 2019
This is obviously an effort to place further pressure on the Chargers, either to raise their offer or to allow Gordon’s camp to find a team that will pay him what he feels he is worth. As Anderson notes in the second tweet, Bilbo pulled off a similar move a year ago when Jarvis Landry as dealt to the Browns where he subsequently was given a healthy new contract.
Gordon has been a highly productive back, rushing for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games last season (on a robust 5.1 yards per attempt), but plays at a position where getting lucrative deals is harder to come by than, say, wide receiver. He, like Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas, is hoping to cash in now on a long term deal with serious guaranteed money, something that is often a rarity for backs.
It’s an understandable request, but it remains to be seen if the Chargers are willing to be the team to give it to him. If they aren’t he seems comfortable carrying his holdout through camp and into the season, and if that happens, given that the Chargers have title aspirations, allowing him to seek a trade might be a logical choice.
