As reported earlier in the week, Melvin Gordon’s holdout ended on Thursday. A product of the fantasy football hysteria of the present day, much was made of what amounted to three missed regular season games. In Gordon’s absence, the Los Angeles Chargers went 1-2 and have found a capable player in Austin Ekeler.
Still, when a player comes back from holdout or injury; the issue at hand is who gets the job. Usually, the job goes to the incumbent rather than the newcomer. In this case, the incumbent will hold serve says Chargers’ coach Anthony Lynn.
Anthony Lynn: Melvin Gordon will be No. 1 RB when he's readyhttps://t.co/tV2MEwM0RS pic.twitter.com/8DbQv7Y9zz
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) September 26, 2019
This quote on the matter comes from Eric D. Williams who covers the Chargers for ESPN.
“He was our starter for a reason,” Lynn said. “I like the way Austin [Ekeler] and JJ [Justin Jackson] have been working. They’ve done an excellent job and proved they can play in this league. They will still have a major role in this offense, but as soon as Melvin’s ready, he’ll go back to being our No. 1 guy.”
In addition, Lynn added that Gordon is unlikely to play Sunday against the Miami Dolphins following a 64-day holdout. Equally important, the Chargers received a two-week roster exemption for Gordon, meaning it could be until week six when we see him in action.
Interestingly, a source told ESPN within the same article that Gordon believes this is his last season with the Chargers.
At this point, this storyline could go in any number of directions. Truly, it wouldn’t shock me to see a Gordon that runs for 1,500 yards in 12 games while playing for a new contract. By the same token, we could see a Gordon that seems a little ‘off’ the entire season; and the main share of running back duties remain with Ekeler.
While we leave that to the future, here’s what soon-to-be backup running back Ekeler had to say about his teammate’s return.
“We’ve got a little swag back in the room,” Ekeler said. “It’s good to see Melvin back in the office. We’ve got one of our playmakers back on our team. I’m glad they got everything figured out and he’s back with us.”
Without question, Gordon has been a game-changing talent on the gridiron since his career began in 2015. Right now, the league seems to have fewer difference makers at that position and usually defined rolls that split the duties and highlight different skills of each player. However, Gordon is one of the rare few who can do it all as the halfback.
