What Now for LaDanian?
The San Diego Chargers finally made it official by releasing LaDanian Tomlinson yesterday. Tomlinson had been speculating for weeks that he thought his time was up in San Diego. This ends up being a football move as much as it was a financial move. Tomlinson was due roughly $6 million next season, but, his level of play did not justify that kind of salary. The big question is what does the future hold for LT?
He says he still wants to play and I think he still has something left in the tank. Sure his level of play has dropped significantly the last two seasons. Some of that has been due to nagging injuries, but, some of that was also due to playing behind a spotty line last year in San Diego.
Tomlinson was not the only San Diego back to struggle last season. The speedy Darren Sproles averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and third stringer Jacob Hester just 3.5. The only back to average over 4 yards per carry was beefy fullback Mike Tolbert who averaged 5.9 yards per carry on his 25 rushing attempts.
LT has lost a step and he does not have the breakaway speed or hit the holes as quickly as he once did, but, if he were to land on a team that opens holes and blocks well he could still be a productive back. He did still manage to lead the team with 12 touchdowns last year and can still catch passes out of the back field.
There has been some sentiment that he is going to end up going the way of Edgerrin James or Shaun Alexander in that he may have to wait for someone to get hurt this summer before someone comes calling. I am not so sure about that.
Tomlinson says he wants to sign with a team that has a chance at contending next season and three teams jump immediately to mind that could be in the market for a backup running back this spring.
Chester Taylor wants out of Minnesota and it seems unlikely the team is willing to pay what another team is willing to give Taylor to be a starter. The six or seven million he could potentially command on the open market is a pretty steep price to pay for a guy who only gets the ball 8 to 10 times per game and does not return kicks. Tomlinson would be a cheaper option than Taylor and is a guy who can probably give a team a good 100 to 150 carries next season.
It is being speculated that the Steelers are not going to lose any sleep over Willie Parker if he decides to ply his wares elsewhere. Parker struggled with nagging injuries all last season and Rashard Mendenhall clearly established himself as the lead dog in the Steelers back field. My only concern with the Steelers as an option for Tomlinson is their offensive line was not good last season and backs who do not find and hit the hole quickly could struggle unless there is a major overhaul up front for Pittsburgh.
The other team that comes immediately to mind is the Philadelphia Eagles. Much like the Chargers the Eagles are faced with what to do with their aging star running back Brian Westbrook. Westbrook has battled knee and ankle injuries the past two years only to have those compounded by a couple of bad concussions during the season. Westbrook is due roughly $8 million next season and it is expected that, at the very least, the team is going to release Westbrook to absolve themselves of having to pay him that kind of money to be a backup.
There is also the specter of retirement for Westbrook. After his second, season-ending, concussion he spoke openly about his playing days being over. As time has progressed and he has recovered from the concussions he seems to have eased off a bit on the retirement talk but it still remains a very real possibility for him. The Eagles very well may bring him back for one more year, but, be rest assured that they will look for a third back in the event Westbrook decides to give it up or gets hurt again.
Tomlinson would be a good fit for what the Eagles like to do. He catches the ball well out of the backfield and picks up blitzes. The Eagles line excels at opening holes for its backs and Tomlinson could still be productive for a team like Philly. LeSean McCoy showed flashes as a rookie but he has shown whether he will reach his perceived potential or not. Taking on Tomlinson for a year would help ease the transition of McCoy becoming the feature back in Philadelphia.
Never count the Patriots out of the mix either. The Pats are always on the look out for aging stars whom they think may have another year or so left in them. Bill Belichick likes to bring in a veteran or two whom he thinks can bring something to the team. Although I wonder if the Pats are hoping to get younger at running back and steer away from the Fred Taylor’s and LaDanian Tomlinson’s of the league.
