Chargers wanted Tomlinson for 10-12 carries a game

It's hard for a professional athlete to retire. You no longer have an extraordinary stream of money coming in, the cheering stops and no more free travel and perks. It's not rare for your former team to ask you to come back but usually it's in a front office capacity.

Former San Diego Charger great LaDainian Tomlinson told Yahoo's Michael Silver that new San Diego general manager Tom Telesco and coach Mike McCoy asked him to come out of retirement and play for the team this season. 

Tomlinson will be 34 in June never entertained the thought of playing again but was surprised by the offer.

"I met [new general manager] Tom Telesco and [rookie head coach] Mike McCoy at the [NFL scouting] combine, and they asked me to come back and play," Tomlinson said. "I saw [executive vice president] John Spanos at a restaurant in Indy, and he introduced me to them, and they brought it up. At first I thought they weren't really serious, but they kept talking about it, and I realized it was real. They said, 'You can come back and carry it 10 or 12 times a game. We'd like to have you here.' " Though flattered, Tomlinson said he didn't seriously consider the offer: "No, because when I made the decision to walk away, I wrestled with it long and hard, and I knew it was final. Once I retired, that was it. My mind is in a different place. Mentally, going back would have been too hard."

I guess that shows how much confidence they have in their incumbent running back Ryan Mathews. They signed former New England Patriot Danny Woodhead in the offseason and now asked the guy he basically replaced to come in for a cameo appearance.

Big names might find it tough on the open market

Brian Westbrook and LaDainian Tomlinson were two of the bigger names recently released by their respective teams.Leading up to the draft there will be more big names hitting the waiver wire.Even though there will be an uncapped year in the NFL,I suspect it might be pretty hard for some stars of recent memory to find a job.There won't be a lot of free spending,like a lot of fans think.Westbrook and Tomlinson,will find it even harder.Tomlinson,due to so-called performance issues.Westbrook,due to injury concerns.
   Personally,I think Tomlinson still has something left in the tank.The experts say running backs decline around age 30.I don't remember that when I was growing up.They weren't known to be washed up aound that point in their career.Times have changed and when you hit the big 3-0 your done.Sometimes its the player,sometimes its the team your on.I do think LT could help a team that is a contender,that might need a push over the top.He's had some nagging injuries that have slowed him down.Also he's been slow to recover from them.He'll find a team that can use his skills only if he doesn't think he'still a big money player.He still has some productive years left,if he goes to the right team.
   Westbrook on the other hand will be a risk/reward to someone.Once again i think it would be better served if he went to contender.A multi-purpose threat,he has a history of injuries,most recently a damaging concussion that sidelined him for most of 2009.I still think he has some juice left, only if he's being used in a timeshare backfield.Eagles coach Andy Reid said concussions weren't the reason he was released.I don't totally buy that,but a $7.25 million dollar price tag didn't help Westbrook's cause.If he signs somewhere,that team will be assuming a big risk because of Westbrook's injury history.If he's healthy it could be a wise bargain,making someone look like a genius.Both players still can bring something to the table,but only at the right price.