They say all good things come to an end, they say it’s better to bow out gracefully rather than to prolong diminishing results and they say it’s better to have loved than never loved at all.
Eventually all good things do come to an end and the relationship between LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers will now just be a memory as on Monday night the Chargers announced they were cutting their onetime franchise superstar.
Age and injuries slowed LT, as he is known, and after a record breaking in 2006 Tomlinson experienced a sharp decline inproductivity. In 2006, when he set single-season records with 31 touchdowns and 186 points he won the NFL's MVP award. He also averaged 113.4 yards a game that season. Since then however he has struggled mightily, as the figures show.
2007 - 92.1 YPG
2008 - 69.4 YPG
2009 - 52.1 YPG
After being cut, Tomlinson said he wasn’t surprised at the decision and is now looking forward to finding a new team for next season.
"It was a long time coming, but I knew it was coming, now that it's official I can kind of look to the next step in my career and playing football for someone else," Tomlinson said, according to SI.com
Tomlinson ranks eighth on the all-time rushing list with 12,490 yards, second in career rushing touchdowns with 138, and his 153 total touchdowns rank third.
But despite his greatness, LT failed to deliver a Super Bowl for San Diego and now he has set winning a championship as his main goal.
"The main thing for me now is to try to win a championship, that's my No. 1 goal. That's why I still work hard and train like I do, because I still believe there's a chance of winning that championship. So the next team I go to has to have a chance of winning a title. I can think of a few teams off the top of my head, but that's what my agent is for. I'm sure he's going to do some research, talk to some teams and present some options to me." Tomlinson said to SI. Com.
Whoever decides to take a gamble on Tomlinson will be picking up a player who once was the best running back in the game, a player well past his prime, but nonetheless a player with years of experience and a player whose goal is now to simply finish with a Super Bowl.
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