Chargers Gab

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, a subsidiary of the adidas Group, has introduced a new line of hats and visors, which features the primary colors and logos of all 32 NFL teams. Golfers across the country can now fly the colors of their favorite teams on the golf course (not on Sundays of course).

Fans can choose from all 32 NFL teams at on-course and off-course retail locations, in addition to select sporting goods retailers. If you are a displaced fan and don’t think you will be able to find your favorite team locally, go to www.taylormadegolfgear.com for a complete selection.

Each hat and visor will feature an NFL team’s logo blazoned on the left panel. The team’s name will also be stitched onto the left corner of the hat/visor. The TaylorMade logo will appear in 3D embroidery on the front panel of the hat.

The hats will be available at retail at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $27.99.

And so the cutdown of the defensive line begins…

Defensive lineman Ryon Bingham has been waived as the Chargers continue to work towards finalizing their 53-man roster by the beginning of the regular season.

After doing so, they filled the roster spot by claiming cornerback Fred Bennett off of waivers from the Houston Texans.

Bennett, a fourth-round draft pick in 2007, has had plenty of NFL experience and could add some depth and veteran experience to the Chargers secondary.

Last year with the Texans, Bennett totalled 18 tackles in ten games, including three starts.

Thoughout his three years in the NFL, he has played in 40 games, including 17 starts. During that time, he has tallied 111 tackles, five interceptions, 24 pass deflections, and four forced fumbles.

With one week left in the preseason, the Chargers made their latest mandatory roster move today, cutting their roster down to 75 players.

The Chargers needed to clear five roster spots by the end of the day today, and did so. The players who fell victim to this were wide receiver Gary Banks, linebacker Darry Beckwith, guard Lee Grimes, and running back Marcus Mason.

The fifth spot was opened when the Chargers placed rookie linebacker Donald Butler on the injured-reserve list. Butler injured his Achilles tendon during training camp and unfortunately will miss what was looking to be a promising rookie year.

With their last preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers only two days away, the players on the roster bubble will be giving it their all on Thursday in hopes of making the final cuts, which will bring the roster total down to 53 players.

Pro Football Talk has continued to provide us with even more insight into this fiasco that is the Vincent Jackson holdout. With quotes from Jackson’s talk with NFL Insider Jason LaCanfora, to reasons as to why Jackson still hasn’t found a team that will be able to make a trade with the Chargers, the media circus surrounding Jackson seems to still be going strong. Give it a read if you haven’t yet heard enough about this beloved Chargers’ receiver.

Chargers wideout Vincent Jackson says he wants to remain in San Diego, but that he’s fully prepared to sit out the 2010 season.

Those were the somewhat predictable highlights of an interview he conducted with Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network on Friday.  They were the first on-the-record comments from Jackson in quite some time.  He admits he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.

“We’ve been trying to figure that out,” Jackson said via the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Again, I trust my agents, they’ve been doing a great job for me, but we really don’t have an idea right now. We’re not being granted permission to speak to other teams and we’re not even sure if they want to trade me. I would love to stay in San Diego.

“That’s where I’ve been and I have a good relationship with the guys that are there. I miss being around my teammates, but again I understand the beast of the business. We’re just controlling everything we can right now.”

One thing they can control is Jackson’s pricetag. Kevin Acee of the San Diego-Union Tribune reports that the Vikings, in addition to the Seahawks, balked at Jackson’s request for a five-year, $50 million contract, with $30 million guaranteed.

It’s been a busy week in Jackson news and we don’t expect it to slow down anytime soon. 

By stepping in front of a camera, Jackson is reminding 31 other teams that he’s still out there, waiting for a contract offer that may not arrive his season.

The agent for unhappy wide out Vincent Jackson says that he thinks the Chargers have no interest in trading his client, and instead would like to work out a deal to keep him in San Diego:

Talk of the Chargers trading disgruntled receiver Vincent Jackson might be much ado about nothing. At least that’s what his agent thinks. Neil Schwartz doesn’t believe the Chargers are inclined to trade his client, who refuses to play under the one-year contract tender offered him as a restricted free agent and who’s withholding services in search of a long-term deal. Schwartz’s belief stems from a conversation with Chargers assistant general manager and lead negotiator Ed McGuire on Tuesday, when the team wouldn’t allow the agent to talk trade with teams other than the Seattle Seahawks.

“After media reports surfaced last week about us talking with Seattle, we had half-a-dozen teams contact us about acquiring Vincent,” Schwartz said Wednesday. “We instructed them to talk to the Chargers because we didn’t have permission to speak to any team other than Seattle. “That’s why we asked the Chargers if we could talk to other teams. Before that, we had never asked the Chargers for a trade.” According to Schwartz, the Chargers said there are certain teams they won’t trade Jackson to. Schwartz asked for a list, and the Chargers declined.

Wide receiver Vincent Jackson was denied permission by the Chargers to talk to other teams besides the Seahawks about a trade, says Jackson’s agents. That has left agents Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod to conclude that the Chargers have no interest in trading Jackson, who is unwilling to play under the one-year tender the team extended to him as a restricted free agent. “I asked the Chargers if we could talk to the rest of the teams in the NFL,” Schwartz said.

“They said there were certain teams they didn’t want to trade him to, and I said, ‘Fine, tell me those teams and we can exclude them.’ Even after that, they said no, so the only conclusion I can come to is they don’t want to trade him.” Schwartz and Feinsod said approximately a half-dozen teams have expressed interest in Jackson, but were directed to speak with the Chargers.

Seattle is the only team to have received written permission from San Diego to talk to Jackson, even though opening the market to other teams would seem to be a logical next move if the Chargers want to trade him. In addition, Schwartz said he asked the Chargers what the team would want in exchange for Jackson, but were rebuffed on that front as well.

“We are trying to actively help [the Chargers] facilitate a trade so it can be a win for us and a win for the Chargers,” Schwartz said. “This way, Vincent can move on with another team and the Chargers can get something for him. We never asked for a trade until [Tuesday]. Prior to that, the Chargers gave Seattle permission to talk to us. After that became public last week, four or five teams called us to ask about a trade, and we instructed them to talk to the Chargers because we didn’t have permission to speak with any other team.” “Vincent would love to continue playing for Chargers, but not under the present terms,” Feinsod said.

As the pre-season comes to an end, the roster will start to thin out as the Chargers make their final cuts and name their 53-man roster.

That process continued today as the Chargers, according to multiple sources, released undrafted rookie Cort Johnson, a punter out of West Texas A&M.

The 5′10”, 190 pound Johnson, who was hoping to earn a roster spot behind Mike Scifres, was taking his shot at an NFL career after being out of football for year. In his only action of the pre-season, Johnson had a 47-yard punt against the Dallas Cowboys last Saturday. Despite it being a solid kick, it was not good enough for him to earn a roster spot.

Johnson proved, however, that he could handle the pressure of the NFL. He may have failed to make it as a Bolt, but keep your eye out for this promising punter somewhere down the road on another NFL roster.

For more information, check out Chargers.com’s feature on Johnson, A Closer Look: Cort Johnson.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Mathews missed practice today in order to have a procedure in which Mathews’ nose was cauterized in order to keep his nose from bleeding.

Mathews has dealt with recurring nose bleeds for years, which I’m sure isn’t helped by the fact that he plays football.

“I have always had a little problem with nose bleeds,” said Mathews. “[The procedure was] just to get rid of it, so it wouldn’t happen in a game, so I wouldn’t have to be taken out.”

The nose bleed that lead to this procedure came during the game against the Dallas Cowboys last Saturday, on a goalline play. Mathews ran the ball, got hit and had the helmet come up and hit his nose. Shortly after, his nose started bleeding and he missed the rest of the series as well as the majority of the next series. With the procedure, this type of thing shouldn’t happen again.

“They put some stuff in there to numb it, and they burnt some veins,” he said when asked about the specifics of the procedure. “It sucks, you can’t sneeze. You can’t do anything. I mean, I feel like I’m sick right now because I’m so congested, but it is worth it so I don’t have to bleed like that again.”

Losing a player like Mathews even for one down can make or break a game for the Chargers this season, so this reassurance that a simple nose bleed won’t interfere with a game is comforting to an extent.