Philip Rivers To Tennessee Titans Is Gaining Steam
By Les Bailey
Of all the 2015 Draft Day scenarios that are a possibility for the Tennessee Titans, the notion that they could get a 33 year-old veteran quarterback like Philip Rivers to bridge the gap to the future has to be the best.
the reality of the situation is that Philip Rivers wants no part of a move to Los Angeles
What started out as pure speculation as the NFL Owners meetings got underway last month has started to dominate most of the conversation surrounding the second pick in the draft at the end of the month.
San Diego Charger GM Tom Telasco and head coach Mike McCoy continue to tell everyone who will listen that they want their franchise quarterback to retire a Charger, but the reality of the situation is that Philip Rivers wants no part of a move to Los Angeles.
If the team is going to move to Los Angles for the start of the 2016 or 2017 season, you have to know there is going to be some fall out, and it will take time to get the football operation back in gear. So why not trade Philip Rivers before you loose him all together, and while you can control the situation?
The San Diego Chargers, according to Kevin Acee at U-T San Diego, had dinner with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota on Monday evening, and proceeded to work him out on Tuesday at the University of Oregon facility.
The 2014 Heisman Quarterback remains the only focus for the Chargers as they have had no contact with Florida State quarterback, Jameis Winston. It appears that this deal could only happen if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers follow all indications that they will make Winston their first pick.
Although I feel like Philip Rivers is the best deal out there and would solve most of the 2015 problems, ESPN Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky, in a post on ESPN.com indicated that maybe the best deal out there would be with the Cleveland Browns.
His scenario has the Browns trading up and offering not only their two number one picks at 12 and 19, but adding a second round pick at 43 and a fourth round pick at 115.
"That’s a huge haul. If the Titans can get that and wind up with 10 picks, that’d be great, even in a year when the draft isn’t loaded.That would leave the Titans with five of the top 66 picks, six of the top 100 and seven of the top 115."
I’ll have to admit that this would possibly be a better deal for a team like the Titans with so many holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but this deal would also test Ken Whisenhunt’s belief in Zach Mettenberger because there would be no Pro Bowl quarterback in the scenario.
I continue to believe a deal with the Chargers for Philip Rivers is the best possible scenario for the Tennessee Titans in 2015.
It would buy the Titans three years in which to build the team without needing to worry about the quarterback position. Rivers can mentor Zach Mettenberger, if he’s really the next option, and give coach Whisenhunt time to fix all of the other problems this team has.
This is the only option that has any chance of meeting former Titans President and CEO, Tommy Smith’s goal of making the playoffs in 2016. Drafting Marcus Mariota maybe gets you to the playoffs in 2017 or 2018 if he is indeed as good as advertised.
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