Chargers should deal Rivers for Mariota

ByKC JOYNER
April 16, 2015, 9:52 AM

— -- During the Oakland Raiders' dominant run in the 1970s, team owner Al Davis would periodically ask head coach John Madden if it was time to consider trading starting quarterback Ken Stabler. Madden always said no to the trade consideration, but understood Davis was asking the question because he wanted to be able to trade Stabler when his perceived value was higher than his actual value.

The San Diego Chargers may be in a very similar situation heading into the 2015 NFL draft. Philip Rivers has indicated he does not want to move to Los Angeles if the club relocates there. His reticence looks to have opened the door to a potential blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans in which the Chargers would land Oregon QB prospect Marcus Mariota.

Trading the face of the franchise for a rookie passer might not seem like a good idea for the Chargers at first glance, yet the truth of the matter is there are many reasons to think that Rivers should be traded -- as his perceived value is currently higher than his actual value.

Bottom line

The Chargers are certainly not the only team to want to move up for a chance at drafting Mariota, but no other club has quite as many motivations to make the move as San Diego. In fact, the number of reasons that favor making this trade far outweigh the case against it and should push the Chargers to do whatever needs to be done to make this deal happen.