http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2334609

Quote :

"The Chargers have all but ruled out the possibility of placing the franchise or transition tag on quarterback Drew Brees, leaving them only two options: signing him to a new contract or letting him hit the free-agent market."

Rivers might get to play after all!

2/18/2006 12:41:10 PM

great news

2/18/2006 12:52:21 PM

Quote :

"General manager A.J. Smith said he wanted to keep all three of his quarterbacks -- Brees, Philip Rivers and A.J. Feeley."

If you love someone...set them free....

2/18/2006 12:54:18 PM

i wouldnt believe a word that man says

2/18/2006 1:31:57 PM

YOU MEAN THEY DONT WANNA SIGN A GUY WITH A FUCKED UP SHOULDER TO A TEN MILLION DOLLAR DEAL WHEN THEY ALREADY HAVE A COMPETENT QB ON THE BENCH????????


What a fucking surprise.


They keep acting like they're gonna keep this guy and clearly they arent. There is absolutely no way they keep both guys. And if they do, their franchise should be disbanded. They shoulda unloaded Brees last year when they coulda gotten a 1st rd pick for him.


For the record, i wasnt trying to be a dick to Moody... i was just pointing out the CHargers are fucking stupid for thinking anyone believes they are keeping both guys. Granted, they cant come out and say "We gotta get rid of Brees" or they'd get low-balled in trade offers... but they cant possibly think they are fooling anyone.

[Edited on February 18, 2006 at 1:48 PM. Reason : a]

2/18/2006 1:35:33 PM

Hmmm....

I talked to Philip on Thursday and he mentioned that before Brees got hurt he said he would be looking to be somewhere else about now. Then he said with the current situation that he wouldn't really know what will go down until closer to training camp. From reading between the lines he was saying I am going to be starting or somewhere else. He said the one positive from Drew getting hurt is that he is going to get all the reps in their mini-camps and practices over the summer so hopefully he will perform well enough for them to trade drew or cut drew.

2/18/2006 7:13:11 PM

i don't think they can trade or cut him if he isn't under contract

he's about to become a free agent

2/18/2006 7:19:32 PM

^ thats a good point.... if they dont franchise tag him, will they be able to trade him period?

Sign & trade like the NBA or what?


If they just let him walk they are retarded...surely they could get a 3rd round pick or something.


Man, not playing Rivers week 17 REALLY backfired... good job Schottenheimer you freaking clown.

2/18/2006 7:22:44 PM

if i remember correctly, he's turned down the charger's long-term offer

so he's basically signed his ticket out of town

2/18/2006 7:23:41 PM

Could they still transition tag him or is that deadline passing too?

There has to be some way they can get something for him...


What a shitty organization. On the cusp of building a Super Bowl contending team and they dont have the stones to go for it.

I think the organization must be pretty divided on who the QB should be.

You know what they say, Indecisiveness killed the cat. Or maybe that was curiousity. Fine, indecisiveness killed the Chargers.

2/18/2006 7:30:33 PM

^ the chargers are passing on the transition tag because apparently it would be guaranteed money in brees' case (since he was franchised last year, i think?), so it would essentially be another franchise tag not a transition tag

more here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060218/news_1s18chargers.html

2/18/2006 7:38:01 PM

i think their is a loophole in the cba that makes it so if they transition tag him they have to pay hime 120% of his previous years salary and because he was frachinsed the tag cannot be pulled so essentially transition tagging him would have the same effect as franchise tagging him this year

[Edited on February 18, 2006 at 7:41 PM. Reason : beat me to it^ i type slow]

2/18/2006 7:40:28 PM

^yeah, which is 9.7 million as opposed to 8.3 million

2/18/2006 7:42:19 PM

Quote :

"YOU MEAN THEY DONT WANNA SIGN A GUY WITH A FUCKED UP SHOULDER TO A TEN MILLION DOLLAR DEAL ????????"

Who would want to do that? The Jets?
Unfortunately, that happened.

2/19/2006 12:00:12 AM

Quote :

"They shoulda unloaded Brees last year when they coulda gotten a 1st rd pick for him."

Quote :

"if they dont franchise tag him, will they be able to trade him period?"

Quote :

"Sign & trade like the NBA or what?"

Quote :

"There has to be some way they can get something for him..."

no, no, no and no. You have no idea what you are talking about, rallydurham. Learn about the rules of NFL free-agency before you post your usual bullshit.

2/19/2006 1:07:05 PM

eli was so stupid for not wanting to go to the chargers

oh wait

2/19/2006 2:00:59 PM

2/19/2006 2:28:37 PM

What the fuck are you talking about Fuel?

The last three I was asking questions.

I know more about the NFL rules than probably anyone on this entire message board. I havent read anything about the P-Riv saga in a long time, so I was asking what their options are.


And why did you pick this quote out?

Quote :

""They shoulda unloaded Brees last year when they coulda gotten a 1st rd pick for him.""

Are you trying to say they couldnt have gotten a first round pick for him? it was only 12 months ago hero, your memory cant be that bad. Several teams were offering a first round pick.

[Edited on February 19, 2006 at 5:21 PM. Reason : a]

2/19/2006 5:21:32 PM

^no, they weren't. Brees was franchised last year, and it would have taken 2 #1's in order to get him. No team in the NFL was willing to give up 2 #1 picks for Drew Brees.

2/19/2006 7:10:37 PM

short memory.


The hell they werent.

2/19/2006 7:47:13 PM

Quote :

"Drew Brees: Could Become Free Agent RotoWire.com Staff - RotoWire.com Saturday, February 18, 2006 Update: Due to some contract stipulations, it appears as though the San Diego Chargers may allow Brees to become a free agent, the The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. If a contract agreement between the two sides is not reached by next Thursday, it is likely that Brees will become a free agent as the Chargers are unwilling to tab him as their franchise or transition player due to guarenteed money disputes. "

[Edited on February 19, 2006 at 11:14 PM. Reason : sdfg]

2/19/2006 11:14:22 PM

Brees would be stupid not to take whatever the chargers offered because I had the same surgery that he had back in october and I still can't throw a football.

2/20/2006 7:04:30 AM

yeah but you dont have some of the top trainers and doctors in the world helping rehab your shit.

2/20/2006 7:44:11 AM

Quote :

"Brees would be stupid not to take whatever the chargers offered "

There are plenty of teams who are willing to take a chance and offer a good, long-term contract a proven QB coming off an injury. The Chargers are not one of those teams. Brees has proven himself over the past 2 years, and now he's ready to cash in on his performance. If the Chargers aren't willing to offer him a multi-year contract on par with top 10 QB's in the league, then somebody else will. The Dolphins, Raiders and Jets come to mind.

2/20/2006 6:30:36 PM

AJ Smith has a press conference this afternoon and said Drew was free to field offers from other teams.

2/20/2006 6:36:27 PM

so does all of this mean that PRiv will in all likelyhood be starting for the Chargers next season??

if it does, that is a great fit for him and a team w/ tomlinson, gates, and a good set of receivers can go a long way i believe.

2/20/2006 7:10:36 PM

Quote :

"so does all of this mean that PRiv will in all likelyhood be starting for the Chargers next season??"

Unless Brees or the Chargers have a change of heart (which is definitely possible), PR starts this fall.

2/20/2006 7:18:47 PM

basically anyone who thought rivers was going to the jets is a moron

i said all season: the only way the chargers would get rid of rivers was if brees made the pro bowl or if the chargers made the playoffs

it really isnt that complicated

2/20/2006 8:08:30 PM

yay go rivers

2/20/2006 11:47:07 PM

brees did make the pro bowl but could not attend because of injury.

2/21/2006 12:04:21 AM

no he didnt

2/21/2006 12:26:37 AM

He would have been playing in the game as an alternate.

But no, he didn't "make the Pro Bowl."

[Edited on February 21, 2006 at 12:29 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2006 12:28:50 AM

Brees would have made the pro bowl if he was playing in the NFC. He had a damn good year and was statistically a top 5 or 6 QB in the league.

2/21/2006 1:57:59 AM

not really

he played a few games well at the start of the season but sucked the second half

2/21/2006 2:00:34 AM

Brees is an alright QB.

He doesnt suck and he's not great.


Playing with Gates really inflates his TD stats (best goaline target in the league probably)


PLaying with LDT keeps defenses very honest against the pass and Tomlinson gets a shitload of receiving yards too...

His WR's aren't special, but I think the Tomlinson effect makes up for that....


You'll get a more accurate portrayal of what Brees really is when he lands on a new team...

2/21/2006 2:18:36 AM

The O-line sucked in the second half of the season. So did LT. Without a running threat or protection there was nothing he could do.

2/21/2006 2:18:46 AM

granted that brees could still come back, but this is a great day for Phil, it seems that the wait, the frustration may finally be coming to an end

2/21/2006 8:30:17 AM

Quote :

"Man, not playing Rivers week 17 REALLY backfired... good job Schottenheimer you freaking clown."

no joke

remember all that schottenheimer love for rivers around the senior bowl?

turns out he didn't actually want him to play qb, he just wanted to have rivers' babies

2/21/2006 8:47:16 AM

I know Cold Pizza sucks, but they were very high on Philip Rivers today and said that the Chargers should let Brees go and hand the reigns over to Phil. Guess we'll see by March 3rd.

2/21/2006 12:19:17 PM

I hope so, Rivers needs to be played. He will do well if they just let him get the reps he needs.

2/21/2006 1:09:58 PM