Chargers Prepping Fans For Tomlinson Departure?

It's not often that teams seem so willing to ditch legendary talent. Usually, when stars wane, teams are stuck keeping them around -- whether through personal sentiment, or fear that fans would momentarily revolt, or simple inability to make a move. That's usually how it works.

The Chargers don't seem so willing to accept that fate. After Darren Sproles' playoff performance proved (at least in a small sample size) that the Chargers have other, cheaper, younger options at running back, La Dainian Tomlinson is suddenly expendable, and the Chargers have yet to commit to keeping their star player. A displeased Tomlinson spoke out against that silence Wednesday. So Chargers president Dean Spanosreached out to Tomlinson today to try and curb the running back's concerns and, well, consider us unconvinced:

"We talked about the situation and I just tried to explain everything that must be considered," Spanos said in a story detailing the offseason decisions the team must make. "I told him we haven't even started our discussions and won't for a while, so don't jump to any conclusions. And I told him I would call him personally to make sure he's aware of everything that's going on."

That's not much of an endorsement. Good for the Chargers for, you know, actually communicating with their running back about his future, but if that quote says anything, it says "We're not saying we're going to trade LT. But we're not saying we're NOT going to trade LT." Plenty of wiggle room there.

Sucks for Tomlinson, but that's the nature of beast. The NFL is a business. The Chargers have to make a business decision. Tomlinson is expensive and aging; Sproles (or a drafted running back) is cheap and young. You don't need us to do the math.