Could Chargers Look to Move LaDainian Tomlinson This Offseason?

Here's a conversation that I'm pretty sure nobody was having 12 months ago: maybe the Chargers should get rid of LaDainian Tomlinson.

LdT suffered a groin injury last week, and there's a great chance he'll miss today's AFC Divisional game against the Steelers. But beyond this season, Tomlinson, who turns 30 in June, will carry a huge salary-cap hit for '09, and NFL.com's Adam Schefter lays out the possible implications for the rest of the team.

Tomlinson is scheduled to count $8.97 million against San Diego's salary cap next season. But if they traded or released Tomlinson, the Chargers would free up $6.725 million worth of salary-cap space – quite a bit for a team that would like to re-sign free-agent-to-be RB Darren Sproles and also will try to re-sign its QB, Philip Rivers, to a long-term extension.

Without Rivers, the Chargers are just another team, but let's be honest: it's a two-way street. A solid rushing attack sets up play action, and when San Diego has struggled to run, they've struggled to matriculate the ball down the field.

Accepting that, the question becomes: can the Chargers continue to be successful without Tomlinson, a guy who averaged nearly 1,500 rushing yards per season? Yeah, sure. It happens every season: a Pro-Bowl back gets injured, and the next guy on the depth chart steps up and performs well.

That's not to say that San Diego should just sign Sproles to a long-term deal and expect nothing to change; LdT is a special talent, and when healthy, he does things nobody else can. But given his salary and injury concerns, it might be more economical to devote those salary-cap dollars to other parts of the roster. That's A.J. Smith's burden to bear.

Something else to consider: once NFL running backs reach 30 they typically start the slow descent into mediocrity. Also: Schefter, in talking with some league personnel types, suggests that the Chargers might expect a third-rounder for Tomlinson should they try to trade him.

I have no idea what to think about that -- the Pats duped the Raiders into taking a fourth-round pick for Randy Moss -- but the fact that we're talking about it reinforces the point that, more than any other position, running backs are fungible. Even ones destined for the Hall of Fame.