Statement from A.J. Smith
08.09.04 - On Monday, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith made the following statement to the media regarding contract negotiations with Philip Rivers:
"We have an update on the Philip Rivers negotiations. Negotiations have broken down. Prior to the training camp report date we made an effort to get Philip signed. Also, during the past week, we exchanged ideas and could not come to an agreement. On Friday, we offered a great deal to Philip. We also notified both Philip and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, that the offer will stand until 5 p.m. Sunday evening and if not accepted, the offer will be pulled off the table. Our offer was rejected. We also informed them that the package we talked about and offered will now only go down in value.
The offer we made to Philip is not a slot offer at No. 4, but in fact, an offer that exceeds No. 2 Robert Gallery and No. 3 Larry Fitzgerald. We believe it's a great offer. Jimmy Sexton has been informed several times that the Manning-Condon deal with the New York Giants was of no concern to us before, no concern now or will it be in the future. This is very unfortunate and disappointing, but it is what it is.
It's now time to concentrate on the players we have here and get ready for our preseason games and gear our efforts to get ready for the opener against Houston. From this time forward I will not talk about the Philip Rivers contract situation anymore. I hope I've made our position very clear. If he decides to sign a contract with the San Diego Chargers, then I'll be more than happy to talk about Philip Rivers.
Dean Spanos supports this decision 100 percent."
08.09.04 - On Monday, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith made the following statement to the media regarding contract negotiations with Philip Rivers:
"We have an update on the Philip Rivers negotiations. Negotiations have broken down. Prior to the training camp report date we made an effort to get Philip signed. Also, during the past week, we exchanged ideas and could not come to an agreement. On Friday, we offered a great deal to Philip. We also notified both Philip and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, that the offer will stand until 5 p.m. Sunday evening and if not accepted, the offer will be pulled off the table. Our offer was rejected. We also informed them that the package we talked about and offered will now only go down in value.
The offer we made to Philip is not a slot offer at No. 4, but in fact, an offer that exceeds No. 2 Robert Gallery and No. 3 Larry Fitzgerald. We believe it's a great offer. Jimmy Sexton has been informed several times that the Manning-Condon deal with the New York Giants was of no concern to us before, no concern now or will it be in the future. This is very unfortunate and disappointing, but it is what it is.
It's now time to concentrate on the players we have here and get ready for our preseason games and gear our efforts to get ready for the opener against Houston. From this time forward I will not talk about the Philip Rivers contract situation anymore. I hope I've made our position very clear. If he decides to sign a contract with the San Diego Chargers, then I'll be more than happy to talk about Philip Rivers.
Dean Spanos supports this decision 100 percent."
Comment