Lightning Strikes Rivers’ Bank Account

The best quarterback in San Diego Chargers history since Dan Fouts just might spend the entirety of his career with the franchise after all.

The San Diego Chargers have announced that they’ve come to terms on an extension with quarterback Philip Rivers through the 2019 season.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the deal includes $84 million in new money and has upwards of $65 million in guaranteed cash.

In the past two seasons in head coach Mike McCoy’s system, Rivers has thrown for 63 touchdowns with just 29 interceptions, while completing 68 percent of his passes with a 99.5 quarterback rating.  This is all without having anything resembling an elite wide receiver.

One can only wonder how great Rivers career would have been if former Chargers general manager A.J. Smith didn’t continuously let his offensive weapons leave without anything legitimate in return.

Bad Day For Right Tackles

Although first-overall pick Jameis Winston’s first professional start will receive most of the headlines in the Minnesota Vikings 26-16 victory oner the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both teams were far more concerned about the health of their tackles after the game.

Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt went down early in the game and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting it as a torn Achilles which will likely cost him the 2015 season.

We suspected that Loadholt’s job may be in jeopardy in this Football Insiders original piece.

The Vikings weren’t the only team to potentially lose a starting offensive tackle as Buccaneers right tackle Demar Dotson went down in the first half.

Dotson was unable to put much pressure on his left leg and it’s believed to be some sort of knee injury that could range anywhere from a sprained MCL to a torn ACL.  He will get an MRI later on to assess the damage.

Dotson is Tampa Bay’s best offensive lineman and if his injury is severe, the Buccaneers will have the shakiest line in the NFL.  Not a great thing when trying to break in a rookie quarterback……

About that rookie quarterback, Jameis Winston struggled mightily in his first preseason start.  The former Heisman Trophy winner completed just 9 of his 19 throws for 131 yards and an interception.  He did score one of the Bucs two touchdowns on an 8-yard scramble.

Winston often stared down his receivers and mostly looked like…a rookie, playing in his first professional game.

More Receiver Drama For The Bears

Former Chicago Bears and current New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall took to the offensive last week speaking about his current team and the lack of leadership and accountability.

As much of a distraction as that is and was, the Bears have bigger fish to fry.

The player brought in to replace Marshall, first-round draft pick Kevin White will reportedly miss the beginning of the season and quite possibly the entire season with a fracture in his shin.

“It’s part of the business,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. “It’s how it goes. Sometimes you’re going to lose some guys and some other guys have to step up. We’re comfortable with Eddie. We’re comfortable with Marquess over there. I think Marc (Mariani) did a good job stepping in over there in the slot. (Tight end) Martellus (Bennett) is kind of a constant out there. We’ve got enough to work with. We just need to clean up some of the sloppy plays we had.”

“He’s disappointed, he’s dying to get out there,” general manager Ryan Pace said of White. “I’ll focus on his long-term health right now, so I think I can think back to a lot of rookies as you look at the history of the NFL, that have had some setbacks and I know this is going to be a blip on the radar as he has a long, successful career.

“He’ll convert from active PUP to reserve PUP and then that gives us the option to bring him up in the latter part of the season. Honestly, is there a chance that he misses the season? That’s a possibility. I want to make sure we do this the right way, not rush him back. Sometimes I feel like you have to protect them from themselves.”

White tried to run on grass Monday for the first time since he suffered the shin injury in organized team activities in June. The next day he had pain and he knew the conservative treatment failed.

“Surgery is not a No. 1 option for anyone, so it was obviously the last option and we’re at a last option,” White said.

With the loss of White and seemingly the emergence of the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears are a good bet to repeat their last place finish of a season ago.