LaDainian Tomlinson Axed From Sorrowful San Diego Chargers

NFL News - February 23rd, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

LaDainian Tomlinson was once the great one. Then he was the pretty good one. Now he's the free one.

The San Diego Chargers released their former MVP on Monday, cutting ties with their all-time leading rusher after nine seasons. With declining stats, and an increasing age, Tomlinson said he was expecting the move for a while, and is looking forward to playing for a new NFL Football team.

"It was a long time coming, but I knew it was coming," Tomlinson told Sports Illustrated. "Now that it's official I can kind of look to the next step in my career and playing football for someone else."

At the moment, Tomlinson is the eighth all-time leading-rusher with 12,490 yards, and is third with 153 touchdowns. He set the league record with 31 touchdowns and 186 points in 2006, en route to winning his only MVP crown. He also reached a career-high 5.2 yards per carry that year.

"This is a part of the business that I hate, and it's particularly hard when you're dealing with someone I consider a friend," Chargers president Dean Spanos said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "Change involving great players is never easy. I respect L.T. as much or more than any player I've ever known. And no one appreciates his contributions to this organization more than I do. That is why this is such a difficult announcement for me to make."

Tomlinson had been the heart of the franchise since being drafted fifth overall in 2001. He instantly became an impact, reaching 1,000 yards in each of his first eight seasons.

"What L.T. has meant to this town and to this team, in nine years, the impact he's had both on and off the field, we may never see that again," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "You're not just going to replace L.T. himself. He was more than a running back."

But as San Diego floundered in the playoffs, never reaching the Super Bowl in his term, fans began searching for answers and his aching knees became a scapegoat. After just five carries in the opening round in 2008, he sat out the rest of the playoffs with degenerating knees while the Chargers lost to Pittsburgh.

Still, San Diego restructured his contract to allow him to return to his Pro Bowl form, and the 30-year old became determined for a renaissance.

In 2009, he said he was determined to come back and said he believed he was a better player than the year's previous leading rusher Adrian Peterson.

He wasn't. The 12 touchdowns last season were welcomed, but he simply became a short yardage back, gaining 3.3 yards per carry.

The Chargers owed him $5 million this March when players are officially confirmed to rosters, but will instead pay a $1 million bonus for being released. Now, it's just finding a happy mix between LT and another team, who will have to come to an agreement about his playing time.

"The main thing for me now is to try to win a championship," Tomlinson said to SI. com when asked about the future. "That's my No. 1 goal. That's why I still work hard and train like I do, because I still believe there's a chance of winning that championship. So the next team I go to has to have a chance of winning a title. I can think of a few teams off the top of my head, but that's what my agent is for. I'm sure he's going to do some research, talk to some teams and present some options to me."

He hasn't reached 1,200 yards since '07, virtually a minimum to be considered an elite back, but agent Tom Condon still believes there's some air in the tires.

"It's one of those things with the very, very special players, like Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, guys like that," Condon told the Associated Press. "You can't predict what they're going to do. They seem to defy the odds. He keeps himself in tremendous condition. I think he feels like he can go forward for several more years."