It was this time last year that the discussion surrounding Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and his future in San Diego really began to heat up. While he eventually signed a contract to stay in SoCal last season, the Chargers were seemingly reluctant to do so, and the writing is once again on the wall, indicating a departure for the future Hall of Fame rusher.

San Diego Union-Tribune beat writer Kevin Acee got the impression from Tomlinson that he still feels like there’s plenty of gas left in the tank and is capable of having several more quality seasons with the right team. Whether that actually ends up happening or not remains to be seen, but there’s little doubt that Tomlinson could be a significant acquisition for a team in need of a versatile back to touch the ball 10 to 15 times a game.

One of the more intriguing options could be Minnesota, where Chester Taylor has quietly played second fiddle to Adrian Peterson, despite having a plus 1,000 yard season in the books before the Vikings snatched Peterson in 2007.  Taylor is scheduled to be a free agent this off-season, and will likely draw plenty of attention, given the relatively light workload he’s had over the past three seasons. That could potentially open the door to an addition of Tomlinson, who could serve as a mentor for Peterson and offer up even more versatility than Taylor in Minnesota’s backfield.

Another locale likely to kick the tires on Tomlinson is Tennessee, as a duo of Chris Johnson and Tomlinson would be as dynamic as any in history at the position. The Titans would likely prefer to find a bigger type of runner to compliment Johnson, but if that doesn’t work out, they could always go with Tomlinson and leave the short yardage stuff to fullback Ahmard Hall.

The Colts, Jaguars, Patriots, and 49ers all could be players in the Tomlinson sweepstakes as well, although their interest is not known at this point. In any case, Tomlinson is probably going to want a team that is clearly on the verge of getting to the Super Bowl at the very least, considering how close he’s come in San Diego and the lack of time remaining for him to earn that final honor.

As always, we’ll keep you posted when more information becomes available.

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