According to sources, McNeill, a Chargers offensive lineman, has ended his holdout and has signed a 1-year/$630,000 tender with the team, effectively ending his holdout. The two sides have two weeks to work out a deal for a long-term contract.
McNeill will be forced to sit out the next three games and will be eligible to play in Week 6 when the Chargers take on the Rams in St. Louis. Sicne he signed the tender today, he will be able to travel with the team to Seattle when they the Chargers take on the Seahawks this weekend. Second-year player Brandyn Dombrowski has taken McNeill's place so far this season.
The Chargers offered McNeill a tender worth $3,168,000 and when he didn't sign it by June 15, the team was entitled to reduce McNeill's salary by 110 percent, which would be $630,000. The salary will further be reduced because McNeill hasn't particiaped in any games thus far and will miss the next three games. His original four-year contract expired after at the end of last season. However, since this is an uncapped season, McNeill would need at least six years on his contract to be considered an unrestricted free agent.
The left tackle has shown signs of promise since being selected 50th overall by San Diego in 2006 (played collegiately at Auburn). He has started all, but 2 games since entering the NFL and is a two-time Pro Bowler. Many consider him to be one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL and it's just my opinion, but he deserves to be paid like one. The Chargers will regret their decision if McNeill leaves the team in the future (I view him as another Jonathan Ogden). He will eventually get a deal done, but one question remains: Who is going to be that team?McNeill, along with fellow teammate Vincent Jackson, have been looking for long-term deals with the Chargers since last season and the team has yet to give either of them one. Jackson has said that he is prepared to sit out the entire 2010 season, in hopes of getting a long-term deal worked out with the team or somehow landing on another team. Jackson was still a Charger at 3 P.M. CT, which means that he will not be able to play until at least Week 7. The NFLPA assigned Jackson a three-game suspension because of his roster expempt status - and it would have been lifted if Jackson was traded before the deadline. The Minnesota Vikings had reportedly expressed the most interest in Jackson - but, the asking price was too steep for Minnesota to pull the trigger (2nd & 3rd round pick in 2011).
I just don't understand why [a trade wasn't completed]," Jackson told the NFL Network. "They obviously think I'm a valuable player by asking for such high trade compensation, but why am I only offered tender salary?"
The wide receiver has shown that he can be a potentially great receiver, and I don't think we will ever see Jackson in a Chargers uniform again. I think, at some point, he will be traded, whether it's before the actual NFL trade deadline or sometime after the season is over. But, I just don't think it's worth it to him to return to the Chargers. The Vikings seem to be the most likely suitors and with their best receiver, Sidney Rice, being injured, they may actually take the offer at some point. The Vikings are currently 0-2 and need a lot of help to make it to the playoffs.
Jackson was taken 61st overall by the Chargers out of Northern Colorado in the 2005 NFL draft. His numbers have steadily increased since turning pro and those numbers would have probably gotten better if the two sides had worked out a deal. Like McNeill, Jackson deserves to be paid with a long term deal, or at least one that makes him one of the top 15 highest-paid receivers in the league.
