Gates Deal Exacerbates Jackson and McNeill Situations

Floyd, Jackson, and Gates (L-R) formed one of the best receiving corps in the league. But this year is setting up differently.

One of the most intriguing storylines this offseason has been the impending holdouts of Chargers’ Pro Bowlers Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill. Both threatened to hold out until the 10^th game of the season unless they get lucrative new deals and general manager AJ Smith has refused to accommodate their demands, making them prove just how serious they are about holding out.

And if Smith’s relationship with both players wasn’t delicate enough, handing out the largest tight end contract in league history yesterday to Antonio Gates certainly won’t help to strengthen it any. Throughout the standoff between the Chargers front office and Philip Rivers’ blindside protector and best deep threat, Smith has maintained that the uncertainty surrounding the future of the NFL’s labor situation has made it difficult for him to justify doling out long-term contracts at this point. But the Gates’ deal obviously proves otherwise.

What it shows is that Smith viewed Gates as more important than either player threatening to hold out—and it’s hard to argue with him. Jackson’s had back-to-back impressive seasons and has established himself as one of the league’s best receivers, but Gates has been doing it for much longer. Gates has solidified himself as arguably the game’s best tight end and has accrued six Pro Bowl seasons. He’s without a doubt Rivers’ #1 target and is an absolute monster in the red zone. He may be 30, but last year was his best season, compiling a 79/1157/8 stat line. And that was with a nagging toe injury that he couldn’t seem to shake.

McNeill, on the other hand, is a solid left tackle—his two Pro Bowl appearances prove that. But he’s by no means indispensible. Rivers is decently mobile and has one of the quickest releases in the NFL; a slight downgrade at the position shouldn’t hurt their offense too much because he’s one of the best at salvaging broken plays. But where his absence could hurt is in the running game. With a rookie slated to be the focus of a running game tasked with taking some pressure off one of the better passing attacks in the league, having McNeill would certainly be a boost. But Smith, who knows his team better than anyone, doesn’t seem too afraid to enter the season letting Ryan Mathews forge his way without McNeill. Apparently he believes the threat of Rivers will give Mathews sufficient running room.

But that doesn’t mean the Chargers will be fine without either player. The Chargers are one of the AFC favorites entering the season and losing two of their best players before the season even starts would be a major blow to their Super Bowl hopes—then again they will get them back for at least the stretch run (in which they would have to report by the 10^th game to accrue a season). But losing Jackson will force unproven receivers Malcom Floyd and Legedu Naanee into more prominent roles and despite their apparent confidence, I don’t know how comfortable the Chargers can be with Malcom Floyd assuming the #1 receiver role in an offense built on passing. Just how dicey is the situation? Floyd has 97 career catches.

So while Gates is really the team’s top receiving option, losing Jackson is a huge blow to the Chargers’ prolific offense. Even though training camps have just begun and anything can happen before the start of the regular season, it doesn’t look like either side will budge, especially since Gates’ deal will make it that much harder for Jackson to buy Smith’s company line about labor uncertainty forcing his hand.

Is Jackson worth a lucrative extension? Most definitely; not many receivers have his combination of size, strength, speed, and ability to position his body in the air for the ball. But Smith seems content with his hand and willing to call Jackson’s bluff. If Jackson does indeed stay away, it looks like more attention will be focused on Gates and he’ll have every opportunity to prove that he’s worth the money.

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