Ugly Duck
07-29-2010, 09:26 PM
Shawne Merriman told the San Diego Union Tribune that he will not report to training camp in time for the start of the Chargers’ training camp.
He will likely be joined by receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill. Both players are expected to hold out into the regular season because they want long-term deals.
Merriman told the newspaper he is not looking for a new deal. He just wants insurances that the team is committed to him.
“I’m waiting for the green light to have a great year,” he said. “I need to know I’m not going to be on the trade block every three weeks … The question is do I have stability enough to go play football and not worry about the other things?
“This is literally day to day how things progress, how things move,” he said. “I don’t want this to be a distraction to my teammates. I don’t want this to be a distraction to me. I just want to get something resolved soon and go from there. The bottom line is when I get back on the field I plan on doing what I do best, and that is playing."
The Chargers were expecting Merriman to show up and he needs to have a strong training camp and regular season to show he is fully recovered from a 2008 knee surgery. It seems like Merriman just wants to clear the air. With Jackson and McNeill wanting much more than that, it seems perhaps the Chargers and Merriman can quickly come to an accord.
Anything is possible, but it just doesn’t seem Merriman -- who will make a lot of money on the open market next year if he has a big season -- will find it prudent to stay away for long.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest
He will likely be joined by receiver Vincent Jackson and left tackle Marcus McNeill. Both players are expected to hold out into the regular season because they want long-term deals.
Merriman told the newspaper he is not looking for a new deal. He just wants insurances that the team is committed to him.
“I’m waiting for the green light to have a great year,” he said. “I need to know I’m not going to be on the trade block every three weeks … The question is do I have stability enough to go play football and not worry about the other things?
“This is literally day to day how things progress, how things move,” he said. “I don’t want this to be a distraction to my teammates. I don’t want this to be a distraction to me. I just want to get something resolved soon and go from there. The bottom line is when I get back on the field I plan on doing what I do best, and that is playing."
The Chargers were expecting Merriman to show up and he needs to have a strong training camp and regular season to show he is fully recovered from a 2008 knee surgery. It seems like Merriman just wants to clear the air. With Jackson and McNeill wanting much more than that, it seems perhaps the Chargers and Merriman can quickly come to an accord.
Anything is possible, but it just doesn’t seem Merriman -- who will make a lot of money on the open market next year if he has a big season -- will find it prudent to stay away for long.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest