Rivers flows with trade talk
By: JAY PARIS - STAFF WRITER SAN DIEGO ---- The massive Chargers' locker room walls couldn't stop their penetration: trade rumors.
"You can either get too involved in worrying about them, like 'Oh, did you hear this?' '' Philip Rivers said. "Or you just let it go and whatever happens, happens.''
Rivers, the Chargers' backup quarterback, is a sizzling coal among the NFL's hot stove chatter. With Pro Bowler Drew Brees returning as a franchise player for $8 million, many speculate the Chargers have one quarterback too many.
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So Rivers, the draft's fourth overall pick who played sparingly his rookie season, has his name tossed about the radio and Internet in purported trades.
The latest involves the San Francisco 49ers, owners of the draft's top selection. The package with the 49ers would supposedly include their No. 1 selection for Rivers, giving the Chargers' three first-round picks.
The thinking is Rivers could start more quickly for the woeful Niners than California's Aaron Rodgers, the projected first pick, or Utah's Alex Smith.
But if Rivers is Bay Area bound, it's a revelation to him and his agent, Jimmy Sexton.
"Yeah, I certainly keep in contact with (Sexton),'' Rivers said after Tuesday's offseason workout at the Chargers' facility. "There has been nothing of urgent news from his side that's he informed me of.''
Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has repeatedly said he expects Rivers to stay put. Smith proved his point by declining to negotiate with Brees on a multiyear contract.
The team would also absorb an estimated $10 million salary cap hit in a Rivers trade. It's believed Rivers received a $6.6 million roster bonus earlier this month.
So instead of absorbing a new offense, Rivers is learning about hearsay. The only Chargers quarterback exiting this offseason was the recently released Doug Flutie.
"I'm seeing how it is,'' said Rivers, who was acquired from the New York Giants last year on a draft-day deal.Ý "I'm sure it's like this every offseason, with somebody on some team.
"But it's been interesting because that has been the whole talk the whole offseason: Drew? Or Philip? Or any of them? Or nobody? Then there goes Flutie. It's kind of been a whirlwind, but we are all handing it well.''
Rivers' immediate goal is uprooting Brees. No disrespect to Brees, Rivers said, but heading into year two, Rivers didn't anticipate being No. 2.
"You can't play the what-if game,'' he said. "But there are so many different (circumstances): what if I was here the whole time in training camp? What would have happened if we hadn't started off the way we did? There are so many things. But certainly this isn't the way you envision going into your second season.''
Rivers, who was 5-for-8 for 33 yards and a touchdown last season, isn't tiptoeing into his battle for Brees' position.
"My way of thinking is it's mine to go get,'' Rivers said. "And that is the only way you can approach it as a player and a competitor.Ý Who knows what will happen in training camp's 30 practices and the preseason games?
"I just think both of us want what's best for the team, and we'll just see what happens when it's all said and done. I will get my shot. And when you get the shot, you can't fall on your face. You have to be ready. And I'll be ready.''
