Spanos puts damper on Tomlinson return

Despite a report over the weekend that the San Diego Chargers had expressed interest in bringing back LaDainian Tomlinson as a player this season, remarks by Chargers executive vice president John Spanos on Monday suggest a return is unlikely.

Tomlinson said he was approached by Spanos, new general manager Tom Telesco and new coach Mike McCoy about returning as a player, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.

However, according to NFL.com, Spanos explained during a Monday appearance on XEPRS-AM radio in San Diego that the conversation with Tomlinson was not focused on trying to get Tomlinson to return as a player.

"When you see L.T., and you see the kind of shape he's in, and the first time meeting him (coach) Mike (McCoy) and (general manager) Tom (Telesco), obviously knowing what he's meant to our city lends itself to the first question, 'Hey, nice to meet you, you got any carries left in you?' " Spanos said. "There was a friendly discussion, and he made it clear he's retired and that's all it was. It's funny it's getting a lot of attention because I can tell having been there it really wasn't that big of a deal."

Asked if the Chargers had genuine interest in Tomlinson, Spanos said, "I think because the conversation never really got past that initial point. It was literally just a quick second, it was a comment and answer and that was it. It never really had a chance to develop beyond that. So it was just an initial introduction, and a simple question, and that's all it really was to be honest with you."

There was no serious talk about whether the Chargers would be receptive if Tomlinson was genuinely interested in coming out of retirement.

"That's something we would've had to discuss," Spanos said. "We never got that far."