The San Diego Chargers' impasse with unsigned restricted free agent offensive tackle Marcus McNeill and wide receiver Vincent Jackson remains unchanged.
Neither player intends to sign their respective one-year tender offers heading into tonight's NFL deadline, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation.
Jackson was assigned a $3.268 million one-year tender and McNeill was assigned a $3.168 million tender.
And we've been told that no talks toward potential long-term deals have been launched with Chargers general manager A.J. Smith.
The Chargers are expected to promptly exercise their right to lower the tender offers to 110 percent of the players' 2009 base salaries. They have 24 hours to do so.
Obvioiusly, that action will do nothing to motivate the players to report to camp and holdouts are expected to unfold.
Now, the big questions are left unanswered: When or if will the players show up and will management change its stance and offer long-term deals?
If both players want, they could sit out the first 10 games of the season and then report in order to earn an accrued season.
Without Jackson and McNeill, two of the NFL's best players at their positions, the Chargers' ability to contend could be affected severely.
Smith, though, isn't known for backing down from a fight.
That's why this figures to remain a complicated, thorny situation.
Follow me on Twitter: RavensInsider
Which first-year players will...
Looking back, Johnson deserves...
Westhoff will be sidelined until...
HBO’s popular series should take...
Guard from Wisconsin agrees to...
