NFL Trade Rumors: Austin Ekeler Deal Unlikely as RB Set to Attend Chargers Minicamp

Still without a new deal or trade in place, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler is expected to be with the team for mandatory minicamp, according to coach Brandon Staley.

Ekeler, 28, was granted permission to explore a trade earlier this offseason after being unhappy with how negotiations over a new contract extension were progressing. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that he doesn't expect Ekeler to be dealt anytime soon.

Despite making the request, Ekeler still wants to remain with the organization that signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

"I want to be a Charger," he said in an interview with SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio in April.

Going into the final year of his four-year, $24.5 million extension that he signed in 2020, Ekeler is set to make $6.4 million in 2023, per Spotrac. His deal leaves him as the 14th-highest-paid player at his position.

That contract makes him a bargain, given he has been one of the best backs in the league over the last couple of years, leading the NFL in touchdowns back in 2021.

"I kind of got punched in the face when the Chargers basically said we don't want to talk about extensions any more," Ekeler said in that same interview. "This is an organization I continue to rise and hit new heights in. That's how it felt. It felt like, 'Wow.' This was the first time in my career with them I felt disrespected by my own organization. It sucks. I want to be a Charger. I want to be a Charger. I want to be there and it sucks because it's like, let's get something done.

"Yes, I do have one more year on my contract, absolutely, but for them to want to allow me to be a free agent next year, maybe we'll get something done throughout the year, who knows how it's going to play out, but that's how I'm feeling right now. We don't have insight into how they're thinking because they're just like, 'Nah, we don't want to talk anymore.'"

The trepidation on behalf of the Chargers comes with the league-wide stigma about extending running backs to big money contracts, especially those nearing 30 as Ekeler is. It'd still be a shame to see him go elsewhere though, considering the torrid run he's been on over the past few seasons.

Last season Ekeler had the best year of his career, rushing for 915 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 722 yards and five more scores through the air.