'Disrespected' Eric Weddle Latest Cause for Concern for Chargers as Draft Nears

Hope grows like a weed during draft season—even in beds of talent drier than the state of California. During the draft, moribund franchises can reverse their fortunes, average teams can add key pieces to drive playoff runs and playoff teams can re-stock talent for the long-term.

If the San Diego Chargers were doing everything right, the draft prospects would be the focus right now. Instead, safety Eric Weddle feels “disrespected” by the team’s leadership for refusing to engage in contract extension talks, per Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego.

Sadly, Weddle’s situation is just the latest example of the smoldering fire in San Diego. Before now, all the smoke could have just been the silly rumors of draft season, but the evidence is now just too much to ignore.

First, quarterback Philip Rivers said he plans to play out the final year of his contract. That led to the swirling trade rumors that the team might trade him to the Tennessee Titans for the rights to the No. 2 overall pick that would become Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Rumors that have yet to subside.

Tight end Antonio Gates then hinted that he played more than he expected last year, and he envisions a more limited role going forward. Gates, meanwhile, is pursuing a second career as a boxing promoter. While Gates isn’t asking to play less, it’s clear he’s thinking about his future now more than ever.

It’s easy for the media to blow stories out of proportion, but there is an important takeaway from all of them. Three of the team’s best, longest tenured and highest paid players are concerned about their futures with the team.

Meanwhile, the team has done little to throw water on a controlled burn that now threatens to break containment. It’s not as if the team was surprised; they’ve known Rivers, Gates and Weddle have contracts that expire at the end of 2015—they set it up that way.

Even if re-signing Weddle isn’t a priority for the Chargers, keeping up the illusion that they want him back is important. Weddle is a prideful person, and the Chargers, of all teams, should now that.

By failing to see re-signing Weddle as a priority now, the Chargers are setting up his departure after the season. They are also guaranteeing Weddle stops taking his leadership role as seriously as he has in the past.

"I feel highly, highly disrespected," Weddle said via Acee. "... It is what it is, but there is no reason for me to put out any more effort."

With Rivers, the team hasn’t publicly said it isn’t trading him, which would be the easiest way to quash the rumors. When pressed, general manager Tom Telesco refused to say Rivers wouldn’t be traded.

LaDainian Tomlinson, who knows Rivers well from their years playing together, speculated why Rivers doesn’t want to sign a new contract on NFL Network. If true, it’s likely why Telesco wouldn’t rule out a trade.

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I don't know if Philip (Rivers) wants to be there anymore. I think he has lost confidence in the organization. He's seen a lot of changes going on…The parts around him keep on moving. The receiver corps keeps on changing…There are so many parts that are leaving…So Philip could be looking at the situation and thinking 'we're not close to winning a championship anytime soon.'

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Sending a big contingent of the leadership to workout Mariota in Oregon doesn’t throw water on the fire, it fans the flames. This isn’t the media creating a story where there isn’t one; it’s the media chasing a legitimate lead the team has done a poor job of concealing.

The Chargers could have approached all three situations differently, but they have instead pressed forward down a path away from Rivers, Weddle and Gates. Rivers doesn’t want to sign before the season, and the Chargers are indulging the idea of a trade. Weddle wants an extension, but it's not a priority for the team. Gates is content to let his contract play out, it would seem, so the team will try to shift more to tight end Ladarius Green in 2015.

All signs point to a lot of change in San Diego over the next year. There remains a very real possibility that Rivers, Weddle and Gates are gone by 2016, as the Chargers move north to Los Angeles. Unfathomable even a few months ago, the Chargers are in the midst of a very real crisis.

Not only are the fans stirring at the prospect of the team moving, but they might be jettisoning a franchise quarterback for an unproven player. They may have ticked off their star safety enough to force him elsewhere in 2016. These are very real issues that the team can't continue to ignore.

The good news is that a lot of this will come to a head in the next few weeks. At least for 2015, we'll know if Rivers is staying or going by the draft. The plan for the future should crystallize as the Chargers add young talent—especially if an early one is a quarterback or safety.