February 22, 2010: The day LaDainian Tomlinson was released by the Chargers
Yesterday was the two year mark of LaDainian Tomlinson’s release by the San Diego Chargers. Tomlinson was arguably the greatest player in franchise history. Tomlinson was a three time All-Pro running back in 2004, 2006 and 2007. He led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,370 in 2003, rushing touchdowns with 17 in 2004, led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,815, rushing touchdowns with 28 in 2006 and won the 2006 NFL MVP award. Tomlinson also led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,474 and rushing touchdowns with 15 in 2007.
When Tomlinson was released, he ranked second all-time in NFL history with 138 rushing touchdowns and eighth all-time in NFL history with 12,490 rushing yards. Tomlinson averaged 1,388 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns per season during his nine year run with the Chargers even though he finished 2008 with 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns. Tomlinson also finished 2009 with 730 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, but he missed two games.
Tomlinson’s first tenure did not end well as he was heavily criticized for looking disinterested on the bench during the 2007 AFC Championship game after he suffered an injury. Tomlinson has since drawn criticism from A.J. Smith because LT pointed out the difficulty of being the man when commenting on Philip Rivers when Tomlinson was a member of the Jets. As I said before in a previous article, if the Chargers and Tomlinson could put the past behind them, he would be a great backup to Ryan Mathews in 2012. The 24 year old Mathews ranked 10th in rushing yards with 1,091 during the 2011 season. As a fan mentioned in the comments section from my article on Monday, LT would be a great mentor to Mathews if the Chargers sign Tomlinson to a one or two year deal.
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