Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is 'waiting on a call' he should never receive

Melvin Gordon is waiting for the Chargers to improve a contract offer that is already too generous.

The Chargers are already offering Melvin Gordon too much money. He wants more. With a reported offer of $10 million per season on the table, Gordon’s holdout is now headed into Week 3 of the preseason.

Gordon told ESPN he’s looking forward to rejoining his team and is “just waiting on a call.” But if he expects that call to include a significantly improved offer — the two sides are, apparently, millions apart — the 26-year-old is never going to receive it.

While Gordon does have more leverage than Ezekiel Elliott from a contract standpoint, he is not the focal point of the Chargers offense as Zeke is for the Cowboys. That’s Philip Rivers and the passing game. And, unlike Elliott, Gordon is not even the biggest receiving threat out of the backfield on his own team. That’s Austin Ekeler, who led all Chargers running backs in targets. Ekeler also owns a better career yards-per-carry average. He’s averaged 5.3 yards per rush over his two-year career; Gordon has averaged 4.0 yards per rush thought four years.

Ekeler’s would-be backup if Gordon’s holdout continues, second-year pro Justin Jackson, is a promising prospect in his own right and has impressed teammates during camp. The Chargers will be fine with or without Gordon.

Gordon probably needs the Chargers more than they need him. As I, and countless others on these interwebs, have thoroughly discussed, running backs do not matter in the big picture. Running backs are a lot like bottled water. There are certainly some that are better than others, at least in terms of reputation, but, from a 30,000-foot view, there isn’t much of a difference.

The Chargers should know this better than any team after last season. In four games without Gordon, L.A. finished 4-0, with over three winning teams, including the Chiefs and Steelers. The Chargers put up 31 points a game without Gordon in the lineup.

It makes sense for Gordon to hold out for what he believes he’s worth. But he also needs to be realistic. He’s a 26-year-old running back with only one truly great season under his belt — and he was in a platoon for that one season. Before 2018, Gordon was averaging only 3.8 yards per carry. He was tracking as a worse pick than Trent Richardson. Here’s a chart comparing running back’s draft position and his total Expected Points Added through the first three years of his career from Twitter user @FFZinger. Look at Gordon there all the way at the bottom by himself.

From @FFZinger/Twitter

After one good year, Gordon is looking for market-resetting money, and the Chargers are wisely refusing to budge. Even if Gordon continues to produce at the rate he did in 2018, he won’t be worth an eight-figure salary. Los Angeles would be better off using that money to build a better offensive line for their other running backs. If Gordon reverts back to the player we saw in Years 1 through 3, such a contract would be an unmitigated disaster.

Even a $5 million offer would be a bit too rich based on Gordon’s career trajectory…

With a $10 million offer on the table, it should be Gordon picking up the phone and making a call, not the Chargers.