Ryan Mathews suffered minor injuries on Monday evening when he was in a two-vehicle accident in San Diego. Mathews lost control of his BMW on Interstate 8. No drugs or alcohol are supsected of being involved in the accident.

Coming off back-to-back seasons without reaching the playoffs, the Chargers feel as though they have lost respect around the NFL. "We have lost our respect in the league and our credibility in the league," A.J. Smith told Peter King of Sports Illustrated. "We were an elite team. You miss one year in the playoffs? OK. You miss two? You deserve everything that's being said about you." Smith's players don't disagree with his blunt assessment. When told of the comments, center Nick Hardwick said, "Amen." Antonio Gates called it a truth that's "not acceptable, not negotiable."

The Chargers have signed former San Diego State quarterback Kevin O’Connell to a one-year contract. O’Connell was a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2008. He spent the ’08 season with the Patriots and the 2009-11 seasons with the Jets. O’Connell appeared in just two games, both with the Patriots during the ’08 season when he completed four of six pass attempts for 23 yards.

Kyle Boller told the Chargers on Saturday that he will retire, one day after signing a contract with the team. San Diego signed Boller after backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst suffered a strained medial collateral ligament the day before. They are down to two quarterbacks. "He does not want to continue to play football," head coach Norv Turner said of Boller.

The Chargers agreed to a one-year contract with quarterback Kyle Boller on Friday. Boller is entering his ninth season after beginning his career as a first-round choice of the Ravens in 2003. He played for the Ravens from 2003-08 where he started 42 of 55 games played. He moved on to the Rams (2009) and Raiders (2010-11). Boller has completed 861 of 1,519 passes (56.7%) during his eight accrued seasons for 8,931 yards with 48 touchdowns and 54 interceptions. Boller was the 19th overall selection in the ’03 Draft after serving as the starting QB for three and a half seasons at California.

The Chargers signed offensive tackle Cordell Bell to a three-year contract Wednesday. Bell is an undrafted rookie free agent from Minnesota State-Mankato. The team released wide receiver Paul Cox, an undrafted rookie from Mississippi Valley State. Veteran defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin also officially signed his contract.

Norv Turner is attempting to instill a sense of urgency as the Chargers begin training camp. San Diego has frequently had slow starts to the season, though they began 2011 with a 4-1 record. "They understand the sense of urgency we have," Turner said. "If you're one of the 11 guys on the field, you have to do it right. There is no such thing as an asterisk for being a young guy or new; they've got to go."

The Chargers have released Kris Dielman. If the veteran guard decides to play, he will be a free agent. Dielman is considering coming out of retirement to continue his career.

The Chargers have agreed on a one-year contract with free-agent defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin. Franklin, a fifth-round pick by the Ravens in 2003, has played with Baltimore, the 49ers and Saints.

Peyton Manning's decision to sign with the Broncos couldn't be good news for the rest of the teams in the AFC West, but one star welcomes a new rival. "I was probably one of the few people that was crazy enough to say it, but I was hoping he was going to Denver," Chargers QB Philip Rivers said Wednesday on NFL Network. "And I say that with all respect. Certainly going to make it even tougher, you look at Indianapolis when he was there, they went like 10 straight years winning 10 games or more, so we certainly can't expect that 8-8 will get us in."