San Diego
April, 2004
Franklin looked up from his desk as there was a loud knock on his office door. "Come in," he commanded.
The door swung open and Chargers QB Doug Flutie walked in.
"Hi, Doug. What can I do for you?"
Flutie sat down on one of the chairs in front of Franklin's desk. "I think it's time for me to hang 'em up, Mr. Brown."
Franklin still had a hard time being called "Mr. Brown" by the legendary QB who was nearly old enough to be his father. "Are you sure about that? I know things are a little rough around here right now, but we could really use your leadership on the team."
"I'm sure. I'm going to be 42 this year, and I'm just not able to take the punishment at my age." Flutie was understating the matter. He had been sacked 46 times last season behind the porous San Diego offensive line.
"Well, I won't argue with you, Doug. I really appreciate everything you did to help us out last season. If there's ever anything you need, please don't hesitate to call me."
Flutie nodded and left the room. The Chargers were now without a quarterback. The only two left on the roster were restricted free agents who were signed as undrafted rookies last year. Franklin knew that if he spent any money at all this year, it would have to be at that position.
***
The Chargers had the 5th overall pick in the upcoming draft, and it was already decided that they would trade it. There were no quarterbacks in the draft worth the high risk, and nobody had forgotten the Ryan Leaf debacle.
The free agent pool was generally disappointing and overpriced. QB's Tim Rattay and Josh McCown were signed for two-year minimal salary deals with no bonus. Neither excited the Charger faithful, but either would likely prove more productive than an undrafted free agent.
Franklin was able to negotiate a deal with the Seattle Seahawks that sent them the #5 pick, along with the 25th pick in the second round in exchange for QB Seneca Wallace (who had a very cheap two years remaining on his contract) and the Seahawks first round pick in 2005. Wallace was considered a very solid prospect, and would almost certainly be the Chargers starting QB after training camp.
The Chargers also made minimum-salary offers to free agent offensive linemen Brian Waters, John St. Clair, and Kevin Shaffer, with hopes that some veteran talent up front might provide a better foundation for the offense. All three signed, but none were considered all-pro talent.
***
Draft day wasn't very exciting for Chargers fans. The team had no first round pick, and traded its two second-round picks to Cleveland for their #1 next season. By the second day, the talent pool was full of unheralded players, and nobody really seemed to notice or care who the Chargers selected. The San Diego Union-Tribune published the team's draft picks on page C-7 after the draft was completed:
Quote:
Round 3
Christian Manderville
Tackle
University of Oregon
Round 4
Ricardo Dubose
Running Back
Syracuse
Round 5
Deron Carpenter
Tight End
Mississippi Valley State
Round 6
Ron Lake
Quarterback
University of Pittsburgh
Round 7
Cris Prichard
Inside Linebacker
University of Colorado
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All five rookies were signed immediately. Although money was still a concern, the cost of negotiation with low-round draftees was considered negligible compared to the value of having everyone in training camp.
Undrafted rookies were signed to fill out the remainder of the roster, and the Chargers were off to training camp with just over $14 million in available cap space (although $10 million was lost in "dead" money this season). Franklin hoped that the modest increase in ticket prices would make up the difference and leave the team with enough money at the end of the year to make the payment to Bruno Triveri.