With respect to LaDainian Tomlinson, anyway, that there hasn’t been any publicized progress, or lack thereof, in the whole contract negotiation thing seems to bode well for LT staying in San Diego; however, neither LT or AJ Smith are saying much.
Free Agency:
The Chargers were relatively quiet over the first day of free agency, but they have made some progress. Both LB Anthony Waters and RB Eldra Buckley have been released. Also, second-round tenders have been placed on restricted free agents Malcom Floyd and Cletis Gordon meaning that if the Chargers don’t care to match a contract from another team, they will get a second-round pick. Jeromey Clary, currently the team’s only exclusive rights free agent, will be offered a contract. The remaining 4 free agents have not been offered contracts: Igor Olshansky, Mike Goff, Jeremy Newberry, and Marques Harris – so it remains to be seen where they will end up. Frankly, I would hate to see any of them not in a Chargers uniform.
Injury update:
Many players underwent surgery after the end of the season, with all expected to be fine by training camp: Marcus McNeill (neck), Jacob Hester (knee), Kassim Osgood (wrist), Jacques Cesaire (shoulder), Scott Mruczkowski (shoulders), Mike Scifres (knee), Charlie Whitehurst (shoulder ), Matt Wilhelm (shoulder), and Jamal Williams (knee/shoulder.)
Shawne Merriman is “on schedule” following his ACL/PCL surgery and should be ready for training camp. It remains to be seen how potent Lights Out will be next season. 2009 will be the last year of his current contract, as he will be a free agent in 2010. Merriman will make approx. $2.7 million for 2009.
