NFL Free Agency Delayed - Questions Surround Brees

With a new collective bargaining agreement (cba) not reached between NFL owners and players gave the Chargers a couple extra days to decide what they want to do with Drew Brees. On ESPN's ticker yesterday I saw that they were reporting the Chargers were to allow Brees to become a free agent. Today the orthopedic surgeon came out to say that Brees “had a successful arthroscopic repair of his shoulder capsule and repair of a partial rotator cuff tear.” If ESPN's initial report is accurate, the Chargers will probably release him regardless. I also think there is some positioning. I think the Chargers want to keep Brees but they want a longer-value type deal. If Brees truly wants to stay in San Diego he and his agent will probably try and negotiate a deal prior to free agency starting. But with so many teams needing a quarterback it would be tough to pass up on the opportunity to make some big money while the potential is there. If Brees falters this season or gets reinjured, regardless of the team he is with, will greatly lower his value if a longer termed deal isn't reached this year.

The bright side for us Charger fans have is that we have a first round QB that has been in the league for 2 years learning the system and doing spot duty as needed. Phillip Rivers will start as a quarterback for a team eventually, the Chargers know this so it might be the right time to at least give him a shot... Rivers signed through the 2008 season so the Chargers have 2 years to decide whether or not he will be the man. The downside is that Rivers has yet to really play and his true NFL talent has yet to be showcased. He did play the majority of the last 2 games of the 2004 and '05 seasons under 2 different situations. In '04 the Chargers had clinched a first round home game playoff berth whereas in '05, all but eliminated from the playoffs, Brees suffered his shoulder injury and the Chargers suffered a beat down by the Broncos.

I'm all for giving Rivers a shot, but my gut tells me that if Brees and his agent want to really gain some 'fan cred' amongst Charger fans they would try to work a deal with the Chargers. But knowing the Charger front office frugality (word?) and knowing that outside of San Diego (and maybe even within San Diego) 'fan cred' really isn't all that...