Melvin Gordon To Report To Chargers

After reports earlier today suggested that Melvin Gordon may be ending his holdout and returning to the Chargers soon, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Gordon will indeed report to the team tomorrow (Twitter link). Gordon will not play in the team’s matchup against Miami on Sunday, but he will presumably return to action the following week.

Gordon needed to return before Week 10 in order to qualify for free agency next season, so he is reporting with plenty of time to spare. However, having missed three weeks of action, he will lose out on roughly $1MM of his $5.6MM 2019 salary, not to mention potential fines (which the team may opt to rescind).

Statistically, Los Angeles’ rushing game has not suffered too much in Gordon’s absence, as Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson have 56 carries for 302 yards (good for 5.4 yards per carry) and two TDs. Ekeler is responsible for both of those scores, and he has also been a contributor in the passing game, adding two receiving touchdowns as well.

However, the Chargers have dropped their last two games, and while they are racking up a lot of yardage, they don’t have the points to show for it. Adding another talented and versatile back could certainly help.

The last we heard, Los Angeles was not planning to give Gordon a new contract during the 2019 season, and the Chargers are clearly not willing to give Gordon the type of contract he is seeking. Indeed, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Gordon expects 2019 to be his last season with the Chargers (Twitter link).

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com adds that Gordon was open to being traded to the Texans, who were a logical suitor given their running back needs (Twitter link). But despite the fact that the Chargers gave Gordon permission to seek a trade, Fowler says Los Angeles never made a trade a viable option, with the implication being that the Bolts put a prohibitively high price tag on their former first-round pick.

View Comments (12)