Chargers legend and long-time Philip Rivers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson wanted his former organization to trade the quarterback and spare him the despondency that comes with a rebuilding process.
Rivers, however, is just fine where he is.
"I guess I should take that as a compliment," Rivers said, via ESPN.com. "But at the same time, nobody should feel sorry for me, really. I have an opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL, live here and play here.
"My faith, my family and this football is more than I could ever imagine as an 8-year-old little boy. Yeah, we're in a tough stretch, but there doesn't need to be any sympathy for me. I look at it as, while I honestly feel I'm playing pretty good, I look at it as my job is to find a way to lead us to win games. We've won five of 21 with me at quarterback, and I take responsibility for that, too."
Tomlinson, who unleashed his take during this week's GameDay Prime on NFL Network brought up an interesting point, though. We heard well-founded rumors about a potential trade during the 2015 NFL Draft, which would have netted the Chargers the opportunity to draft Marcus Mariota. If San Diego truly considered itself a rebuild, that would have been the time to do it.
"Let's just call it what it is," Tomlinson said (video here). "The Chargers are rebuilding right now, OK? They're rebuilding. Philip only has about three or four years left. If you keep him there during this rebuilding process, you just wasted his entire career."
He added: "The best thing to do, possibly, is trade him. Get something for him right now. Trade him to a contender and let this man get a chance to win a championship. That way you still get something for him."
It is a noble thought, and one that Rivers probably appreciated behind closed doors. Even if there doesn't seem to be a magic fit before the deadline -- the Dolphins? 49ers? Jets? And would any of those teams really be better than his current situation? -- there is something morose about imagining the end of Rivers' career sans Super Bowl.
Luckily for the Chargers, he has the right attitude and blames himself for this above anyone else.
