Just a couple days before NFL owners are set to vote on possible relocation back to Los Angeles, one report is now suggesting that things are trending the way of the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams being the two franchises to relocate to Southern California.
Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times, citing multiple league officials and owners, are reporting that there is momentum building to pair the Chargers and Rams up in Inglewood — a move that would leave the Oakland Raiders out in the cold.
This comes on the heels of a report over the weekend indicating that the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones had brought a similar proposal to the table.
This is a pretty stunning development for a number of reasons.
First off, the Chargers have in the past remained committed to a proposal in Carson that has included the Raiders from day one.
In this, Chargers owner Dean Spanos has balked at the idea of taking part in any Inglewood stadium project that would see his team become nothing more than a tenant for the Rams.
Secondly, the two proposals that have been brought to the NFL in the past only included the Chargers and Raiders sharing a stadium in Carson with the Rams going it alone in Inglewood.
The other thing to look at here is the future of the Raiders in Oakland. It’s relatively clear that the team isn’t going to get a new stadium in Northern California anytime soon. The NFL itself admitted this over the weekend.
If the league were to leave the Raiders out in the cold here, owner Mark Davis might have a back-up plan already set in motion — a plan that could include relocation to San Antonio.
The Los Angeles Times report does go on to indicate that Spanos is hesitant to turn his back on the Raiders, who the Chargers have been linked to regarding the two-team stadium plan in Carson.
What’s even more interesting here is that at least one “influential owner,” according to the Times, indicated that Carson was the much more viable stadium plan than Inglewood, further concluding that “the deals aren’t even close.”
The league’s 32 NFL owners are set to meet in Houston on Tuesday with a vote on relocation expected to take place on Wednesday.
If they decide to take up this Rams-backed stadium project in Carson, the entire process of relocation itself could be delayed further.
If not, we will have a vote on the two projects, at which point 24 votes will be needed to approve relocation.