Chargers Take Stand Against Holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill
by Dennis J. GeorgatosSan Diego Chargers' team president Dean Spanos reiterated the team's firm stance against its two high-profile holdouts, wide receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill.
In an interview Thursday with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Spanos said both players had the chance to sign lucrative one-year tenders but refused to do so. They instead sought longer-term deals, an idea the team not only has rebuffed but has said it won't talk about, at least for the moment.
"They have put themselves in this position," Spanos told Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. "We did not put them in this position. It's very clear to me, obviously, the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agrrement) changed this year ... We tendered them the highest possible offer we could, which is $3.2 or $3.3 million, which far exceeded their previous four years salaries collectively. They had two months to go out and find a team to play for. They didn't, or couldn't. They elected at the end of two months to not sign the tender. That's the end of the story."
Spanos said he would welcome their return and urged them to sign their tenders, whch have been sharply reduced in value.
"It was a business decision they made," Spanos said. "I wish they were here, I wish they were playing for us. I believe they need to sign the tenders and come in and see what happens after that."
by FanHouse TVThe San Diego Chargers have won the past four AFC West titles but have just three playoff wins to show for it. In 2010 they said goodbye to LaDainian Tomlinson -- one of the great players in franchise history -- and are playing tough with two key holdouts. FanHouse TV's Tom Krasovic reports on the outlook in San Diego.
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by David Elfin
The Dallas Cowboys on Friday traded Patrick Crayton to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for a seventh-round pick in next year's draft. If Crayton catches 40 or more passes in 2010, the Cowboys' return could get upgraded to a sixth-round pick.
As soon as Dallas drafted Dez Bryant in the first round in April, fellow receiver Crayton figured his days with the Cowboys were numbered. Miles Austin, a revelation in 2009, wasn't going anywhere. Bryant was the shiny new toy. Roy Williams had the big name. Sam Hurd plays on kick coverage teams. And despite Crayton's career-best year returning punts in 2009, the Cowboys want Bryant and fourth-rounder Akwasi Owusu-Ansah to fill that role even though both have missed major time with injuries since being drafted.
All Crayton does is catch the ball (37 catches, 622 yards, five touchdowns while starting just four games last year, compared to Williams' totals of 38, 596 and seven while starting 13 games) and return punts better than anyone other than Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson and New England's Wes Welker. Crayton's 12.1-yard average ranked third in the NFL in 2009 while his two touchdowns tied Jackson for the league lead.
After two years as the fourth receiver and one at No. 3, Crayton became a starter in 2007. He caught as many touchdowns (11) as quarterback Tony Romo's favorite target, tight end Jason Witten, but the Cowboys still traded for Williams in October 2008 and soon gave him Crayton's job.
Now, with Bryant seemingly recovered from his sprained ankle -- and Hurd having led Dallas with 12 catches for 175 yards in preseason to Crayton's lone 10-yard catch and absence from Thursday night's finale against Miami -- Crayton's "human insurance policy" self-description and spring prediction that he wouldn't be a Cowboy this fall seems to have been fulfilled.
Agent Fred Lyles wanted the Cowboys to make the move Friday to give his client an extra day to find a new team.
"It seems he doesn't figure in their plans," Lyles told The Dallas Morning News. "We don't see the use in prolonging it." 
by J.J. CooperIf it wa
sn't for an impending six-game suspension, it appears that Vincent Jackson would have switched teams on Sunday.
Jackson's agents had worked out a new contract with an unnamed NFL team, setting the table for the Chargers to trade the holdout wide receiver, according to multiple news outlets. But the potential move fell apart because San Diego placed a roster exemption on Jackson -- he's facing a three-game NFL-mandated suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy, plus an additional three-game punishment handed down by the Chargers for sitting out all of the preseason.
The Seahawks, who had been linked to Jackson before, apparently talked to him again on Saturday, but Seattle reportedly is not the team that worked out a framework deal with San Diego.
This does appear to a near no-win situation. Considering that the teams looking to trade for Jackson are looking at a one-year deal for Jackson (who is a currently a restricted free agent), San Diego's asking price can't be too much for a player who will only be around for 10 games. But at the same time, the Chargers don't want to just give him away, considering he's one of the better wide receivers in the league -- the team was rumored to be asking for a first and third-round pick for Jackson.