Should LT be the Chargers back of the future?

Each week, instead of providing another half-ass weekly recap that can be seen across the internet, I will bring up a thought provoking or controversial issue/thought from the football action I observed (trust me, football action greatly trumps other kinds of action I would observe or partake in).

While watching the Bears piss away this week's game against the Chargers, I really started to wonder if San Diego should go with Michael Turner as their feature running back in future years and make a move with LT (LaDainian Tomlinson for those few people who may still think of LT as Lawrence Taylor). Now, LT would still be one of the top backs in football and the best player on the loaded roster of the Chargers. However, he has accumulated 2,448 touches (an astounding 408 per year) in his six year career and looks well on his way to another massive workload this season. History shows that backs with that kind of mileage have a strong chance of breaking down soon.

Also, should word hit that LT may be on the market, I think that Chargers could get a similar gigantic haul that the Cowboys got for Herschel Walker back in the late 1980's. That move led to the Boys three Super Bowl titles in the 1990's. Teams desperate to make a big move towards respectability like the Cardinals or Browns could offer a large package of young players and draft picks in order to get the most respected player in the game. For instance, Cleveland could offer Braylon Edwards, Sean Jones and 4-5 early round picks (with at least 2 future first rounds). Arizona could offer a package of Anquan Boldin, Adrian Wilson and 3-4 early round picks.

However, even with potential ransom that could be obtained in an LT trade, the major reason why the Chargers could pursue this course of action would be the big time talent of Michael Turner. At this point of his career, I think Turner may be one of the 10 best running backs in the league. He has the coveted combination of quickness and power in a body that could sustain the pounding required to be a primary NFL running back. Despite lacking top end speed, Turner's quickness in hitting the hole has led to him having a career average of 6.0 yards per carry.

As it currently stands, the Chargers will lose Turner for nothing in free agency as he will assuredly sign to be the starting running back for some team this off season. Instead of losing a valuable commodity for nothing, why not attempt to make a move that could propel the Chargers to a similar run the Patriots made earlier this decade, winning three Super Bowls in a four year period.

While I'm sure that many people may dismiss this idea as crazy or unrealistic, this kind of forward thinking would be needed in order to succeed in the most competitive league in professional sports.