Running back Melvin Gordon’s management team followed through on a promise made weeks ago: It requested that the Los Angeles Chargers trade him to a team that will give him the contract he wants.
Damarius Bilbo, Gordon’s agent, told ESPN on Thursday he made that request last week. General Manager Tom Telesco responded by calling Gordon “family” but didn’t give his representatives permission to seek trading partners, meaning Gordon is still holding out and the Chargers apparently aren’t budging on his demands.
According to Yahoo, the sides are $2 million to $3 million apart in annual salary. Bilbo successfully pulled off a similar tactic last year with receiver Jarvis Landry, persuading the Miami Dolphins to trade him to Cleveland Browns, who then gave him a five-year, $75.5 million contract with $47 million guaranteed.
Gordon, who’s 26 and in the final year of his rookie contract, is scheduled to make $5.6 million this season. He’s looking for something along the lines of the extension given to Arizona running back David Johnson last September (three years, $39 million, $30 million guaranteed).
The Chargers are thinking more along the lines of the five-year extension given by the Falcons to Devonta Freeman in 2017 (five years, $41.25 million, $22 million guaranteed), though they almost certainly would go a little higher than that.
SEAHAWKS: Defensive end L.J. Collier, a rookie first-round pick, will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a badly sprained ankle in practice earlier this week.
Coach Pete Carroll said Collier’s ankle injury was an unusual sprain. Collier went down after getting tangled up during a team drill and had to be carted back to the locker room.
JETS: Center Ryan Kalil, a five-time Pro Bowl center, surprisingly come out of retirement.
Kalil, 34, and the Jets agreed to terms on a deal. He’ll need to pass a physical before signing his contract.
PANTHERS: Carolina added a familiar face, signing safety Tre Boston to a one-year contract.
Boston, a five-year veteran, could challenge Rashaan Gaulden for a starting job at safety alongside veteran Eric Reid.
JAGUARS: Rookie linebacker Quincy Williams, a third-round draft pick who showed enough over the last three months to lock down a starting spot, will miss 4 to 6 weeks because of a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Williams tweaked his knee during drills and left practice early. The team said he’ll have arthroscopic surgery in the coming days. He still has an outside shot at returning for the Sept. 8 opener against Kansas City.
SAINTS: Michael Thomas reported after signing the league’s richest contract for a receiver.
“Now you’re the highest-paid, and now you’ve got to go earn it,” Thomas said a day after signing a five year, $100 million extension. “I’m trying to earn every penny of it.”
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