The Chargers released their most productive players in team history today, after cutting ties with RB LaDainian Tomlinson. This wasn't a surprise to anyone, especially Tomlinson. The Chargers RB (who folks affectionately call him "L.T.") reported not long ago that he expected his release from the team this offseason.

The 5th overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, Tomlinson had one of the most productive decades of any RB (he rushed for 12,490 yards, 8th in NFL history, since playing in the league). Most remember Tomlinson's most productive season in 2006 , where he rushed for a league-leading 1815 yards and 28 TDs. LT also had a solid 2007 season when he rushed for 1474 yards and scored 15 rushing TDs. But once the 2007 playoffs came around, Tomlinson caught the injury bug and has never fully recovered since.

Tomlinson's numbers declined drastically for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He rushed for a total of 1840 for those 2 seasons, only 25 more than his entire 2006 total. He also watched as the Chargers gave RB Darren Sproles some more reps in the backfield and played a diminished role in the Chargers high powered offense.

What will happen next with the Chargers RB hole is a mystery. It's been reported that the Chargers are looking to trade CB Antonio Cromartie for a possible RB to fill the void of LT's release.



From the Chargers twitter account were the following quotes from Chargers front office:

[Dean] Spanos (Chargers President) : "This is a part of the business that I hate, and it's particularly hard when you’re dealing with someone I consider a friend"

A.J. Smith (General Manager) : "He's a future Hall of Famer. My only regret is that he leaves San Diego without a Super Bowl ring"
It will be interesting to see what happens with LT from here. Will he sign to another team or will he retire? He can always go onto DTWS or get into the karaoke business...... remember this?!