Chargers, Bryant McKinnie in 'ongoing' contract talks

Bryant McKinnie had seemed to be enjoying this.

On Tuesday, he was all over Twitter, sending updates to 80,000-plus followers that he was flying out of Miami, that he was at his Dallas layover, that he landed in San Diego. There were posts about finished meetings with the Chargers, about going to dinner with them, about getting back from dinner.

On Wednesday, at 8:32 a.m., he snapped a photo of the entrance to Chargers Park. “In the building early,” he wrote.

Then, it turned silent from the left tackle. Totally silent.

The rest of McKinnie’s Wednesday was, however, busy, as he took a physical and weighed a contract offer from the Chargers, a source said about 3 p.m. The source described negotiations as “ongoing” and speculated McKinnie could be arriving at the airport at anytime, heading back home to Miami.

Whether or not negotiations progressed enough to diffuse those plans is unclear.

But the Dolphins and Ravens are among those also believed to have interest in McKinnie. Earlier this week, the 33-year-old visited and took a physical with Miami.

If he signs in San Diego, he’d figure to be a stop-gap starting left tackle — and an exception to a youth movement. McKinnie turns 34 in November. Tight end Antonio Gates and punter Mike Scifres are the oldest players on the roster at 32.

Last year, McKinnie started all four postseason games for the champion Ravens. The 6-foot-8. 354-pound lineman was a reserve in the regular season.


(utsandiego.com)