In hopes of securing a new contract from the Los Angeles Chargers, Melvin Gordon held out and missed the first four games of the season.
It was not a pleasant experience.
“It was bad, man,” Gordon said on The Zach Gelb Show. “People was at my neck. People was at my neck, man. I feel like a lot of Charger fans kind of left the corner, which is sad. But there's a lot that stayed in my corner. It's kind of crazy because when you see good and bad, you really only focus on the bad, which is crazy. You only remember the bad, but I've had plenty of messages from Charger fans just telling me, 'Regardless of the holdout, we love you, we appreciate you, we're glad you're here, we want you back.' You get just as many of those, but you probably get a little bit more hate messages.”
In Weeks 5-8 – his first four games of the season – Gordon rushed 44 times for 112 yards (2.5 yards per carry) and one touchdown. The Chargers started 2-5 and never recovered, finishing 5-11 and missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
Gordon was asked if he regretted anything from this past season.
“You want to say, ‘Yes, I regret not coming in,’ just kind of going about it a different way,” he said. "But you got to make what you can make. You just kind of want to feel appreciated. When you get past that, you kind of understand, but it kind of hurt me not getting to the playoffs. I wouldn't say that was because of me. It's a team game. But I feel like if I come in training camp, things are definitely a little different.”
Gordon made $5.6 million in base salary in 2019. During Gordon’s holdout, the Chargers reportedly offered him a contract worth $10 million per season, but no deal was signed.
Still, Gordon, a free agent, isn’t ruling out a return to the Chargers.
“You definitely can't rule out the Chargers," said Gordon, who turns 27 in April. "Hopefully my future is in L.A. That’s where I would love to be regardless of the holdout and them not wanting to give me what I wanted. It's a business. You got to understand that. There's no hard feelings. I still got a great relationship with a lot of people in that organization from top to bottom, but right now, hopefully we can figure it out. Hopefully my future is with L.A. and we work it out.”