Running back Melvin Gordon has informed the Los Angeles Chargers that, unless he receives a new contract, he will not report to training camp and he will demand a trade, his agent Fletcher Smith told ESPN.
Smith said he and Gordon did not want to go this route, but because of the lack of progress in negotiations and the offers the Chargers made this offseason, they felt it necessary to voice their displeasure in an effort to reach a more satisfying outcome, whether that is with a new contract or a trade.
Gordon is scheduled to be heading into the last year of his contract, a fifth-year option, worth $5.6 million dollars.
Other top running backs — Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Le’Veon Bell — recently have received new deals, and Gordon wants to be the next running back added to that illustrious list. He is unwilling to take the Chargers’ offer that does not put him near the salaries of those top running backs.
Gordon has been voted to two Pro Bowls and rushed for an average of 5.1 yards per carry and recorded 14 total touchdowns in 2018.
Unless the two sides can resolve their differences between now and when the Chargers’ camp is slated to open on July 24 in Costa Mesa, California this will be a contentious issue that shadows this team throughout the summer, much as it once had to deal with an unsigned Joey Bosa throughout the summer of 2016.
Smith said Gordon is dug in and discouraged with where talks are.