At a time when it appears that there’s plenty of momentum to finally resolve the L.A. situation, the possibility of another one-year delay has re-emerged.
Per a source with knowledge of the dynamics of the situation, the Chargers could resist a forced marriage with the Rams in Inglewood by employing nine votes to block the proposed Rams-Chargers partnership there. This would, as a practical matter, delay the L.A. relocation by at least another year, forcing the Chargers to stay in San Diego and, more importantly, forcing the Rams to stay in St. Louis.
With Rams owner Stan Kroenke recently burning his bridges there -- and given that the NFL has declared the efforts of local politicians to subsidize a new stadium to be “unsatisfactory and inadequate” -- a one-year stay in St. Louis would be impractical at this point for the Rams.
Which could give Chargers owner Dean Spanos the leverage necessary to, with the blessing of at least 23 other owners, swap the Raiders for the Rams in the proposal for a shared stadium in Carson. Which is possibly what Spanos and Raiders owner Mark Davis envisioned when they proposed their partnership a year ago, after Kroenke unveiled his plan to build a stadium in Inglewood.
If so, it was brilliant. Whether or not it will be effective will be determined as soon as Wednesday.