National Football League

Report: Philip Rivers does not want to play in Los Angeles

Published Apr. 15, 2015 2:34 a.m. ET

foxsports

By Larry Brown

Philip Rivers has been the quarterback of the San Diego Chargers for over a decade, but that run with the team may be coming to an end.

UT San Diego’s Kevin Acee wrote a column Tuesday arguing that the Chargers should trade Rivers now in order to get a return for him.

The QB, who was drafted by the team in 2004, is “dreading a move to L.A.” according to Acee. Though the Chargers are still in San Diego, signs point to the team moving to Los Angeles in a year or two now that Inglewood is beginning construction on a new NFL stadium.

Rivers will be a free agent after the 2015 season. They could choose to franchise tag him if they two sides cannot reach a long-term deal, but that would only be for a year. Acee believes it makes sense for the Chargers to deal him now. He points to a potential trade with the Tennessee Titans, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, so that the Chargers can draft Marcus Mariota. What’s interesting is that Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt has openly discussed the possibility of the team drafting Mariota. There also has been talk that the Titans like Zach Mettenberger and would be prepared to play him as their quarterback.

Acee speculates that the Chargers could get the No. 2 pick from Tennessee by trading Rivers and still be able to hang onto their No. 17 overall pick. He thinks they might have to throw in a pick from a later round to make it happen.

There have been some rumblings about Rivers wanting to play in Tennessee, which is not far from where he grew up in Decatura, Ala., and close to where his wife’s family is from. Rivers is a big family man and has seven children. San Diego has been his family’s home since 2004. If that continuity is going to be disrupted, it makes sense for him to pick up and move to a place where he wants to be for the end of his career. And at 33, he still should have a good 3-5 years of football left in him.

More from Larry Brown Sports: