Much like Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys, Melvin Gordon and the Los Angeles Chargers have made football headlines in recent days for their ongoing contract extension stalemate. And with Gordon still holding out with two days remaining before the 2019 NFL season starts, the 26-year-old running back took to social media on Monday to make his thoughts about the contract discussions known. In both cases, it seemed that he was throwing some serious shade at the Chargers.
As documented by Bleacher Report , Gordon updated his Instagram Stories early on Monday evening, sharing a “cryptic” photo that featured the phrase “time is up” and the hashtag “NoPayNoPlay” displayed next to a female soccer player. Per Sports Illustrated , the woman in the photo is Jamaican women’s national team player Lauren Silver, who, together with several teammates, shared social media posts in recent days, asking the country’s soccer officials to pay them what they deserve for their contributions on the field.
Shortly before sharing the aforementioned image through his Instagram Stories, Gordon posted a tweet where he took issue with the criticism he has received since the start of his holdout. He said that people “try to make [him] out to be so average” even if they know he isn’t, adding that his fellow NFL players understand the reason why he is demanding that the Chargers pay him more money.
Gordon, who totaled 885 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns for the Chargers in the 2018 season, per Pro Football Reference , is heading into the last year of the rookie contract he signed in 2015 as the 15th overall pick in that year’s NFL Draft. While the two-time Pro Bowl running back was originally hoping to sign a contract extension prior to the start of the 2019 campaign, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said on Sunday that any discussions regarding an extension will be delayed until after the season, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Chargers GM Tom Telesco says contract extension talks with RB Melvin Gordon “will be suspended” until after the season, per @AdamSchefter
(h/t @brgridiron ) pic.twitter.com/TJaJutDFEb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 1, 2019
Meanwhile, earlier rumors have suggested that there’s a good chance Gordon may have already played his last game for the Chargers. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the star running back is supposedly expected to miss Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season as he considers his options for a trade and only plans to report to Los Angeles if a “major development” takes place during contract negotiations. Gordon has also followed a number of rival NFL teams on Instagram, including the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers, as previously tweeted by CBS Sports’ Will Brinson.
