LT Let Go: Who the San Diego Chargers Could Replace the Greatest Bolt Back Ever With

With Ladainian Tomlinson out of the picture and Darren Sproles on the side, the San Diego Chargers have to be thinking about who will fill their backfield for a 2011 Super Bowl Run.

Tomlinson’s release was inevitable with the Chargers escaping a $2 million roster fee and with cornerback Antonio Cromartie on the block; the Chargers can make some moves to improve their current backfield situation.

Heading into his fifth year, Cromartie has some value already making it to a Pro-bowl displaying shades of shutting receivers down. The Chargers lack of pass rush has hurt Cromartie’s aggressive-style of play which could be better utilized in defenses that attack the quarterback.

Signing Darren Sproles will have huge implications on what direction they move in for signing or trading for another a running back.

With this in mind, who could the Chargers possibly be targeting to revitalize their backfield?

It has been noted that the Chargers put Cromartie on the block looking for a running back or a trade pick to get a running back.

The slideshow will display the possibilities of who the Chargers could possibly get by trading Antonio Cromartie and/ or a first-round pick for a running back.

Trading Antonio Cromartie to the New York Jets

The New York Jets have the best shut-down corner in the league, Daryl Revis, and an eight-year veteran, Lito Sheppard, who was dropped from the Jets Base defense before the start of the AFC Championship Game. The Jets also contain three solid running backs who could all make an impact on any team.

The most appealing to compliment Sproles would be the 5’11’’ bruiser Shonn Greene who has already proven to produce in the playoffs rushing for over 125 yards in his first two playoff games averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

Averaging a team high 5.0 yards per carry on 108 carries; Greene displayed the ability to run over opponents, Eric Weddle, and has shown the quickness to separate himself from defenders.

If the Chargers were looking to save money and let Sproles go, Leon Washington would be a perfect quick fix. Unlike Greene, Washington is best after a catch in the open field.

Like Sproles, his quickness and elusiveness along with size give defenses fits. Washington heading into his fifth year has shown he can run inside and will be a great addition to the Chargers passing attack.

One player whose numbers have gotten better since he turned 30 is 31-year-old Thomas Jones who, this season, had career-high numbers in rushing attempts (331), rushing yards (1,402) and rushing touchdowns (14).

He might be older than what the Chargers are looking for, but he has shown no signs of slowing down and could be used as a (running) back to compliment Sproles.

All three candidates would fit and be productive in any offensive system. This is why it will be tough to split time three ways after seeing what each guy can do. Plus, Cromartie’s style (jumping passes) and quickness might appeal to Rex Ryan’s blitzing scheme.

Trading Antonio Cromartie to Tennessee

The emergence of Chris Johnson last year was totally unexpected and took LenDale White out of the offensive picture. White saw his rushing numbers decrease year-by-year from rushing the ball 304 times in 2007-08 to 64 times this past season. In his 2008-09 campaign, White had 15 touchdowns on 200 attempts.

The Titans prefer speed over brawn in their backfield with Vince Young, and with Johnson rushing for over 2,000 yards there is no need for White. He would be a perfect compliment to Darren Sproles and could be a good short yardage back for the Chargers evident by his 15 touchdowns in 2008.

The Titans could use some height on the outside with both their starting corners standing at 5’10’’. If the Titans were to release White, Javon Ringer, the hard runner from Michigan State, would back up Chris Johnson and succeed with his edgy-running style and ability to get to the outside.

With only one full-year of starting 16 games in 2007, White has proven he can play with the big boys for a full season and the fact that he only had 64 rushing attempts last year tells me that his legs are fresh.

It wouldn’t be a bad move for the Chargers, White will be hungrier than ever, and he would be back in Southern California where he played at USC.

Trading Antonio Cromartie to Houston

One team you could possibly see flip-flop with the Chargers in them signing LT and the Chargers getting one of their running backs to clear up space could be the Houston Texans and Steve Slaton.

Currently, the Texans have a four-player backfield of Slaton, Brown, Moats, and Foster.

Slaton saw his numbers diminish after week seven and saw all three other back’s production increase. Slaton was having problems holding onto the ball, fumbling the ball six times within the first seven weeks. Slaton in his rookie year played every game and only fumbled the ball twice.

This kid can play. He had a rough sophomore campaign, like Matt Forte, but had a solid rookie year. The West Virginia product rushed for more than 100 yards in six games combining for 1,282 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

He is a possibility because the coaches might not be so high on him at the moment and with the backfield the Texans contain they might want to wheel and deal one back.

The Texans could also use Cromartie’s ability to give the ball back to the Texans explosive offense. After last years season, Cromartie had three turnovers-- one more than the Texan’s six corners that had played.

Slaton’s sophomore slump was evident by injury and fumbles, but after his production in his rookie year Slaton could rejuvenate his career in San Diego as LT could do the same in Houston.

Trading Antonio Cromartie and/or First-Round Pick to Chicago

The Bears are in need of a corner and a first-round pick losing it last year to the Denver Broncos in the Jay Cutler trade.

Matt Forte’s numbers dropped substantially from his rookie season as Jay Cutler joined the team. The Bears might need a different style back to better compliment the offense and might find one in the first round.

The Bears have bigger necessities like their secondary, but Mike Martz was signed in the off season to become the Offensive Coordinator for the Bears. It seems that Forte would fit into Martz’ scheme somewhat like Marshall Faulk did when playing for St. Louis.

But the Bears have another good-young back, last year’s rookie, Khalil Bell who didn’t get many touches but is an explosive back who can bust it at any time evident in his first NFL game against Philadelphia scampering for a 72-yard touchdown.

If the Bears were to trade Forte for a first-round pick, then the Chargers would get a better more complete back at this stage than they would if they were to pick a first round running back.

The Chargers would be giving up a lot for a first-round pick and Antonio Cromartie, but they could release Sproles because Forte is dynamic back that can catch as well as he can run and it would inevitably save money for the Chargers.

The Bears picked up Forte in the second round and might feel they could do better with a late first-round pick.

Trading Antonio Cromartie to NFC East Teams (one of two)

Philadelphia is always an interesting team because they have good-skilled players and they are always looking to improve their team. The Eagles defense takes pride in turnovers and their corners Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown are good at it largely due to their defense always applying pressure on the quarterback.

Cromartie’s style of jumping first routes is identical to Samuel’s style of play, which created nine interceptions, and works perfect in a defensive scheme that gets to the quarterback. Why do you think Cromartie had his best year of 10 interceptions when Merriman and Phillips combined for 21 sacks?

The Eagles could be prone to trading Westbrook after watching the emergence of Pitt alum LeSean McCoy. Westbrook has only had two 1,000 yard rushing seasons in his five-year career and his injuries last year might have the Eagles looking more towards McCoy.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see LT in an Eagle uniform if Westbrook does go and their style of offense will work great with Tomlinson’s catching and blocking ability.

Trading Antonio Cromartie to NFC East Teams (two of two)

The Giants are in need of speeding up their secondary and have Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw heading into his fourth year has only started one game, has never had more than 163 rushing attempts in a season and was banged up by injury last year.

However in his short career, Bradshaw has averaged 8 yards per catch and with 253 rushes has accumulated 1,323 rushing yards averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Injury to a player with Bradshaw’s talent is crucial when dealing with trade possibility.

The Giants might be fearful of Bradshaw’s injury re-occurring and might let him go for a corner, but the Giants fears of Bradshaw re-injuring himself might come true. If he were to play healthy as a Charger, he would be a steal for Cromartie. His hard-nose style of play will work well next to Phillip Rivers.

Also with this, the Chargers could either release Sproles and choose a first-round running back or hold on to Sproles and use Bradshaw the same way the Giants used him. I am not too sure how the Giants value Bradshaw at this time, but I would love to have him on my team.

Dallas and Jerry Jones are known for going out and getting flashy corners in pursuit of a Super Bowl run. Let it be known that if Cromartie were to play on a defense that applies pressure on the quarterback, he will have at least five turnovers. Jerry Jones understood this when he brought Deion Sanders over in his seventh year as a pro.

Yes, the Cowboys have two solid corners but would lethalize their secondary with the addition of Cromartie—who played under Wade Phillips in San Diego. There had been talks of the Chargers looking at Marion Barber, but Jones is too big of a fan.

Dallas likes all three of their running backs but like the Jets situation have three backs that won’t get the time they deserve if they stay put because of their talent. Tashard Choice would be the most understandable from both points of view and his hands and toughness between the tackles would be a nice fit for Turner and the boys.