The Steelers have signed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a contract extension before what would have been the final year of his contract. The Giants may do the same with quarterback Eli Manning. But one member of the 2004 first-round quarterback class won’t be signing a contract this year.
And we’re not talking about J.P. Losman.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers tells Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego that the 11-year veteran won’t sign a new deal before his current contract ends after the 2015 season. But what could change the player’s mind?
“Honestly, nothing,” Rivers said. But then he softened that. A bit.
“What I can control and all I know as of today, I am signed up for one more year,” Rivers said. “I guess things could change, but with all the uncertainty in many aspects, I don’t see it changing before camp gets here, and when camp gets here I’m even more certain to play it out.”
The stadium situation has become an issue with Rivers, who may not want to move his wife and seven (yes, seven) children to Los Angeles, if the team relocates.
“What we’ve established here with my growing family is hard to recreate,” Rivers said. “It’s hard to up and recreate that. I know that moves are part of life. But that certainly is fair to say that [not being sold on moving to Los Angeles] is part of it. The good thing is I’m not under contract in a year where we’d potentially be in Los Angeles.”
Of course, the Chargers could use the franchise tag to keep Rivers around for another year. At his 2015 cap number of $17.416 million, it would cost $20.9 million to keep him with the team for 2016.
And there’s still a chance he’s not on the team in 2015. Via Acee, G.M. Tom Telesco declined to rule out a trade of Rivers.
“I don’t like Philip as our QB, I love him,” was the most Telesco would say. “And I’ll go to war with him.”
That could be interpreted as a response more clear than “no trade,” but Telesco still didn’t directly rule out a trade. Which means that, whether Telesco wants it or not, he soon could be hearing from teams that may be interested in acquiring Rivers.
Maybe, say, the Titans. They hold the second pick in the draft and their head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, coordinated the San Diego offense in 2013.