Melvin Gordon training in California amid holdout with Chargers: I'm 'just waiting on the call'
Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is still holding out, waiting for a new contract before reporting to the team this fall.
He’s still, though, eagerly waiting to take the field.
Gordon is currently training in California, apparently ready to go the second a deal gets done.
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“[I’m] just waiting on the call,” Gordon said on Monday, via ESPN.
Gordon is set to enter the fifth-year option of his initial rookie contract this season, which will earn him $5.6 million. The 26-year-old, however, is holding out for a more lucrative deal, and has said he’s willing to sit out the season over it. His agent demanded a trade earlier this month, too, after the Chargers stuck by their initial offer of about $10 million per season.
He declined to talk about his holdout or current contract situation with ESPN on Monday.
According to ESPN, both Gordon’s team and the Chargers are still “millions apart in negotiations,” clearly no closer to getting a deal done. They have attempted to bridge that gap with extra incentives in the contract, though those apparently haven’t been enough to get Gordon to budge.
The two-time Pro Bowler ran for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games last season, his fourth in the league since the Chargers selected him in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft. He’s the second major running back holding out for a new deal this fall, joining Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott reportedly flew back to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Monday to keep training during his holdout after a joke owner Jerry Jones made on Saturday, and appears to be in a very similar situation to Gordon at this point.
Gordon does have one small advantage over Elliott in this situation, however. Should his team and the Chargers reach a deal before the start of the regular season, he won’t have an international flight to catch to rejoin his team.
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