Chargers Editorial: Letting Floyd Just Ride Into the Sunset
The recent shoulder injury to Malcom Floyd has left his San Diego Chargers season in jeopardy and in reality his career. Floyd has been pretty adamant that he will retire after the 2015 season and he has no wishes to return beyond that. A torn labrum is not an easy injury to recover from by any means.
A recent report indicates that Antonio Gates will try to convince the wide receiver to come back for the 2016 season. Gates has been lobbying for Floyd to return stated that “Dude, you can’t go out like that”. Both players are in the last year of their contract with the team.
Clearly Floyd is still considering returning but should he risk further injury to return? It is an absolute shame that he had to get injured, but the game of football is a brutal sport. Injuries are a reality and they can easily happen to any player on any given play.
If Floyd has it in his mind to retire after the year, he should be left alone and not be pressured to return. His loss is huge as Floyd is an excellent weapon for Philip Rivers down field, but his life and the quality of it is way more important than a silly game. The fans, the media and his peers should respect that.
If he chooses to come back and return next season it should be on his terms, not because he felt any pressure. It is reported that Floyd is working very hard to return this season. So who knows? Perhaps he returns this season and is able to leave the game under his conditions.
The 34-year-old is in a contract year to boot. The Chargers have so much uncertainty surrounding them that Floyd and his contract status is of no concern to them at this point. His torn left shoulder will be really difficult to return from. If he takes another hit on that shoulder while coming back, his career would undoubtedly be over.
The 11 year veteran came to the Chargers in the same draft year as Philip Rivers. Floyd was undrafted out of the University of Wyoming, and has a very special bond with his QB. For his career Floyd has played 115 games and caught 312 balls for 5,398 yards and 34 touchdowns. He has an impressive 17.3 career yards per catch number and is Rivers favorite target on the deep bomb down field.
His 2015 season was supposed to be his going out party, but the play of the team and the uncertainty surrounding the franchise has clouded the usual sunny days in San Diego. Floyd’s injury is just the icing on the cake which has been a miserable season for football in America’s Finest City. Perhaps it is just time to let Floyd ride off into sunset and not force him to return at the risk of future injuries. The toughest thing in life is saying goodbye, however if you really love him Chargers fans… you’ll let him go.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.