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The San Diego Chargers have apparently made it known around the league that they're looking to trade for a running back. With Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason on the roster, it looks like Antonio Cromartie is the guy being dangled as bait.However, with most teams now running three wide receiver sets most of the time, teams are almost required to carry three starting-caliber corners rather than the traditional two.
With that in mind, wouldn't it simply make more sense for the Chargers to hit the free agent market rather than trade away a guy that will have to replace anyway?
Speaking of running backs hitting the free agent market, Chester Taylor would be a good place to start. He is going to be 31 years old next season, the same age as the San Diego living legend LaDainian Tomlinson, but he has a lot less wear and tear on him.
Taylor has only 1,028 career carries as opposed to a guy like LT who has 2,880 yards in only one more playing year than Taylor. He also has only one season of over 300 carries, and other than that season, has a career high of 160 carries in a single season.
But in that one season when he had over 300 carries (303), he ran for 1,1216 yards and six touchdowns, including a 95-yard romp against the Seattle Seahawks.
He only averaged four yards per carry, but this was back in 2006 before the Vikings were the playoff-bound team they have been over the past couple seasons.
So why didn't he stay a starter? Well, it was because of the arrival of Adrian Peterson via the draft in 2007. It's not really a knock on Taylor to say he's not as good as AP, though, is it?
Taylor may have fallen into some bad luck, first backing up Jamal Lewis in Baltimore, then AP in Minnesota, but he certainly deserves another shot at starting. He's only got about four years worth of carries under his belt, so he's really only about 26 or 27 years old as far as his playing years are concerned.
This is a guy who could realistically be a starter for the next two or three years before seeing a decline in play. He's a very good runner, he's a very good receiver, and could help a team like the San Diego Chargers who could potentially lose both of their running backs this offseason.
But even if they are able to keep Darren Sproles on board, I'm not convinced -- and something tells me neither are they -- that Sproles can handle the load of a 300-carry season.
Taylor has shown that he can do it on a sub-par team, so on a team like the Chargers it's not out of the question for him to have a breakout, Pro Bowl type of season.
So Chargers, you have a rare case here of being able to have your cake and eat it too. Keep Cromartie, and throw some money at Taylor. With a real rushing attack, it may just be the year that this team gets over the hump and into the Super Bowl.
