We already know the Chargers have a goal to get running back Melvin Gordon signed to a contract extension deal.
Negotiations have apparently begun, according to ESPN’s Eric D. Williams. No details have been announced of how much it will be worth or the exact date. Gordon also told ESPN’s Wendy Nix on NFL Live that he will report to mandatory minicamp.
There had been many speculating that he was going to hold out because he hadn’t showed up to any of Los Angeles’ organized team activities. There was some fear it was going to be a similar episode to Le’Veon Bell last year with the Steelers, who sat out the whole season because he wanted a large paycheck.
The actuality of that was Gordon kept a similar schedule to his previous years, where he trained out in Florida to prepare for the rest of the team activities leading up to the 2019 regular season.
Gordon, who was the No. 15 overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft, is currently playing on the final year of his rookie contract with L.A., which calls for him to earn $5.6 million this upcoming season.
He has been eligible to sign an extension for more than a year, but general manager Tom Telesco said there was no timeline. Now that we know negotiations are going down, it becomes how much money is the former Wisconsin product worthy of.
When looking at the running back market, Gordon might be looking for a deal that pays him around $13-14 million per year based on the kind of money that Rams’ Todd Gurley and Bell have recently gotten. But will the team be willing to match that?
Gordon is coming off his best season, statistically at least. Though he played in 12 games in 2018, he ran for 885 yards with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also had 50 receptions for 490 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
But his durability may concern the Chargers in the long run, when they are determining the details. He tore his ACL during his rookie season and has dealt with some sort of injury every season since then, causing him to only play one full season out of the four.
There’s no denying that the Chargers are a better team when he is on the field but they have proven that they can win without him. Last season showcased just that as Los Angeles was able to maintain a stout backfield with Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome.
The bottomline is that it’s becoming more and more likely that a deal will happen, but it’s just a matter of how much and how long the team feels he is worth when forecasting his long-term production and most importantly, his health.
