All signs point to the Chargers not re-signing linebacker Shawne Merriman when his contract expires after the 2009 season, according to San Diego Union-Tribune. Many people believe that he is making a mistake by choosing to play this season, because he could end up jeopardizing his career and perhaps a huge contract if he worsens his knee injury. "My job is football, and that's it," Merriman said recently.

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman informed the team this morning that he has decided to forego surgery on his knee and will play in the 2008 season. Merriman has a torn PCL and LCL in his left knee and several specialists recommended season-ending surgery.

The San Diego Chargers released five players today to reduce their roster to the NFL?s required 75-player limit. Head Coach Norv Turner announced that quarterback Casey Bramlet, wide receiver Billy Pittman, tight end John Tereshinski, wide receiver Marco Thomas and punter/kicker Billy Vinnedge were released. Pittman, Tereshinski and Vinnedge joined the Chargers in May as undrafted rookie free agents. Bramlet and Thomas had previously spent time with other clubs. Bramlet was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004 and had stints with Washington, Atlanta and Miami. Thomas spent time on the practice squads of the Giants, Raiders and Jets as a rookie in 2007.

The Chargers have deferred to rookie Jacob Hester in goal-line situations in the preseason, but he was unsuccessful in four attempts before finally breaking through in the fourth quarter on Monday. Darren Sproles scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge in the second quarter and could see those goal-line carries.

Chargers' linebacker Shawne Merriman claims that he will do everything he can to play this season, according to ESPN.com. "I can't imagine not playing football this year," Merriman said in an interview. "I really can't. That's what this is all about. I want to see that I can play ... I haven't made my decision yet, but I am going to do everything I can to play. That's what this is all about." Merriman has a tear in his lateral collateral ligament as well as a grade-three tear of his posterior collateral ligament. "I have to go make this last trip and the get back with the team and figure it all out," Merriman said. "This is all about me playing. That's all I want to do."

Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman has returned to San Diego after receiving second and third opinions regarding his torn knee ligament, according to ESPN.com. Doctors told Merriman that he could suffer a career-ending injury if he plays without undergoing surgery. If he does decide to have surgery, the timetable for his return is not yet known. He could miss just a few weeks, or the entire season. "I've been seeing some really great doctors over the past few days and they've all said the same things about the injury," Merriman said. "[They're] kind of surprised that I've been playing with it up to this point."

Chargers' linebacker Shawne Merriman has a few options regarding his injured knee. He could do nothing and hope to just miss a few weeks, or he could opt for season-ending surgery, according to The San Diego Union Tribune. "It's finding out what do I need to fix, what I need to do," Merriman said. "If it's left up to me, I want to play football. I can't stand sitting out." He has a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Shawne Merriman said on Thursday night that he has ligament damage in his knee and is weighing his options, according to The Associated Press. The trouble is "a loose ligament and [I'm] waiting to get more info on what I need to do," Merriman said. Merriman underwent surgery five months ago to repair cartilage damage in the knee, but has had persistent pain ever since. Coach Norv Turner is hoping that Merriman will be able to play in the team's season opener.

San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman had his knee examined by Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday after soreness kept him out of practice for more than a week, according to The Associated Press. Merriman had surgery to repair cartilage damage five months ago but has endured persistent pain in the knee during training camp. "I think he wants to make sure he gets it checked out and make sure everything is all right with it," San Diego Coach Norv Turner said. "When he's been able to practice and move around, he's looked awfully good to me."

The NFL season is just a few weeks away, which means that fantasy league all over the world are gearing up for their annual draft. We?ve kept our finger on the pulse of fantasy football throughout the offseason with three rankings updates, but in our fourth installment for the 2008 NFL season, we?ve compiled a number of different lists. In addition to our big board of 225 ? a unique number for a unique website ? we have isolated players based on position and broken them down into tiers. Without further ado, here are our preseason fantasy football rankings: 1. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB SD 2. Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN 3. Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI 4. Joseph Addai, RB, IND 5. Stephen Jackson, RB, STL 6. Tom Brady, QB, NE 7. Randy Moss, WR, NE 8. Clinton Portis, RB, WSH 9. Marion Barber III, RB DAL 10. Frank Gore, RB, SF 11. Marshawn Lynch, RB, BUF 12. Larry Johnson, RB, KC 13. Peyton Manning, QB, IND 14. Terrell Owens, WR, DAL 15. Ryan Grant, RB, GB 16. Reggie Wayne, WR, IND 17. Braylon Edwards, WR, CLE 18. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAX 19. Tony Romo, QB, DAL 20. Willis McGahee, RB, BAL 21. Jamal Lewis, RB, CLE 22. Andre Johnson, WR, HOU 23. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI 24. Marques Colston, WR, NO 25. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, CIN 26. Willie Parker, RB, PIT 27. Steve Smith, WR, CAR 28. Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG 29. Laurence Maroney, RB, NE 30. Darren McFadden, RB, OAK 31. Drew Brees, QB, NO 31. Plaxico Burress, WR, NYG 32. Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA 33. Torry Holt, WR, STL 34. Wes Welker, WR, NE 35. Reggie Bush, RB, NO 36. Michael Turner, RB, ATL 37. Earnest Graham, RB, TB 38. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT 39. Chad Johnson, WR, CIN 40. Carson Palmer, QB, CIN 41. Anquan Boldin, WR, ARI 42. Antonio Gates, TE, SD 43. Jason Witten, TE, DAL 44. Thomas Jones, RB, NYJ 45. Edgerrin James, RB, ARI 46. Derek Anderson, QB, CLE 47. Brandon Marshall, WR, DEN 48. Kellen Winslow, TE, CLE 49. LenDale White, RB, TEN 50. Tony Gonzalez, TE, KC 51. Santonio Holmes, WR, PIT 52. Greg Jennings, WR, GB 53. Selvin Young, RB, DEN 54. Fred Taylor, RB, JAX 55. Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR 56. Kevin Smith, RB, DET 57. Matt Forte, RB, CHI 58. Roy Williams, WR, DET 59. Marvin Harrison, WR, IND 60. Calvin Johnson, WR, DET 61. Hines Ward, WR, PIT 62. Julius Jones, RB, SEA 63. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA 64. Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI 65. Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC 66. Rudi Johnson, RB, CIN 67. Laveranues Coles, WR, NYJ 68. Lee Evans, WR, BUF 69. Roddy White, WR, ATL 70. Jay Cutler, QB, DEN 71. Chris Cooley, TE, WSH 72. Dallas Clark, TE, IND 73. DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR 74. Chris Chambers, WR, SD 75. Brett Favre, QB, NYJ 76. Jerricho Cotchery, WR, NYJ 77. Felix Jones, RB, DAL 78. Marc Bulger, QB, STL 79. Kevin Curtis, WR, PHI 80. Chester Taylor, RB, MIN 81. Bernard Berrian, WR, MIN 82. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT 83. Donald Driver, WR, GB 84. Joey Galloway, WR, TB 85. Justin Fargas, RB, OAK 86. Santana Moss, WR, WSH 87. Jeremy Shockey, TE, NO 88. Eli Manning, TE, NYG 89. San Diego Chargers 90. Ahman Green, RB, HOU 91. David Garrard, QB, JAX 92. Heath Miller, TE, PIT 93. Todd Heap, TE, BAL 94. Minnesota Vikings 95. Deuce McAllister, RB, NO 96. Chris Johnson, RB, TEN 97. Chicago Bears 98. Philip Rivers, QB, SD 99. Anthony Gonzalez, WR, IND 100. Vernon Davis, TE, SF 101. Javon Walker, WR, OAK 102. Derrick Mason, WR, BAL 103. Patrick Crayton, WR, DAL 104. Nate Burleson, WR, SEA 105. Owen Daniels, TE, HOU 106. Donte? Stallworth, WR, CLE 107. Jake Delhomme, QB, CAR 108. New England Patriots 109. Jerious Norwood, RB, ATL 110. Tony Scheffler, TE, DEN 111. New York Giants 112. Isaac Bruce, WR, SF 113. Green Bay Packers 114. Chris Brown, RB, HOU 115. Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB 116. Tatum Bell, RB, DET 117. Jon Kitna, QB, DET 118. Alge Crumpler, TE, TEN 119. Reggie Brown, WR, PHI 120. Jerry Porter, WR, JAX 121. Pittsburgh Steelers 122. Dallas Cowboys 123. Ricky Williams, RB, MIA 124. Seattle Seahawks 125. Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG 126. Kenny Watson, RB, CIN 127. Reggie Williams, WR, JAX 128. Bobby Engram, WR, SEA 129. Vincent Jackson, WR, SD 130. Jacksonville Jaguars 131. Matt Schaub, QB, HOU 132. Indianapolis Colts 133. Benjamin Watson, TE, NE 134. Donald Lee, TE, GB 135. D.J. Hackett, WR, CAR 136. Leon Washington, RB, NYJ 137. Greg Olsen, TE, CHI 138. Jason Campbell, QB, WSH 139. Ronald Curry, WR, OAK 140. Ladell Betts, RB, WSH 141. Vince Young, QB, TEN 142. Derrick Ward, RB, NYG 143. Baltimore Ravens 144. Sidney Rice, WR, MIN 145. Jabar Gaffney, WR, NE 146. Bryant Johnson, WR, SF 147. L.J. Smith, TE, PHI 148. DeShaun Foster, RB, CAR 149. Justin Gage, WR, TEN 150. Philadelphia Eagles 151. Drew Bennett, WR, STL 152. Darrell Jackson, WR, DEN 153. Matt Leinart, QB, ARI 154. Kurt Warner, QB, ARI 155. Tennessee Titans 156. Mark Clayton, WR, BAL 157. Maurice Morris, RB, SEA 158. Ted Ginn Jr., WR, MIA 159. Kolby Smith, RB, KC 160. Amani Toomer, WR, NYG 161. LaMont Jordan, RB, NE 162. Kevin Faulk, RB, NE 163. Nick Folk, K, DAL 164. Jeff Garcia, QB, TB 165. Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE 166. Roydell Williams, WR, TEN 167. Arizona Cardinals 168. Zach Miller, TE, OAK 169. Antwaan Randle El, WR, WSH 170. Buffalo Bills 171. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 172. Ernest Wilford, WR, MIA 173. Deion Branch, WR, SEA 174. JaMarcus Russell, QB, OAK 175. Shayne Graham, K, CIN 176. Phil Dawson, K, CLE 177. Adam Vinatieri, K, IND 178. Kevin Walter, WR, HOU 179. Nate Kaeding, K, SD 180. Sammy Morris, RB, NE 181. Muhsin Muhammad, WR, CAR 182. T.J. Duckett, RB, SEA 183. Devin Hester, WR, CHI 184. Kevin Jones, RB, CHI 185. Jamaal Charles, RB, KC 186. Mason Crosby, K, GB 187. Warrick Dunn, RB, TB 188. Aaron Stecker, RB, NO 189. Robbie Gould, K, CHI 190. Shaun McDonald, WR, DET 191. Dominic Rhodes, RB, IND 192. Adrian Peterson, RB, CHI 192. Brandon Stokley, WR, DEN 193. Steve Smith, WR, NYG 194. David Patten, WR, NO 195. Josh Brown, K, STL 196. Michael Bush, RB, OAK 197. Lorenzo Booker, RB, PHI 198. Jeff Reed, K, PIT 199. Ryan Torain, RB, DEN 200. Alex Smith, QB, SF 201. James Jones, WR, GB 202. Arnaz Battle, WR, SF 203. Marty Booker, WR, CHI 204. Chris Perry, WR, CIN 205. Leonard Pope, TE, ARI 206. Laurent Robinson, WR, ATL 207. Andre? Davis, WR, HOU 208. Andre Hall, RB, DEN 209. Kevin Boss, TE, NYG 210. Brandon Jackson, RB, GB 211. Ben Utecht, TE, CIN 212. Pierre Thomas, RB, NO 213. DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI 214. Bobby Wade, WR, MIN 215. Fred Jackson, RB, BUF 216. Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ 217. James Hardy, WR, BUF 218. Michael Pittman, RB, DEN 219. Ray Rice, RB, BAL 220. Chad Jackson, WR, NE 221. Trent Edwards, QB, BUF 222. Steve Slaton, RB, HOU 223. Dennis Northcutt, WR, JAX 224. Antonio Bryant, WR, TB 225. Ben Obomanu, WR, SEA Quarterbacks Tier One 1. Tom Brady, QB, NE 2. Peyton Manning, QB, IND 3. Tony Romo, QB, DAL Tier Two 4. Drew Brees, QB, NO 5. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT 6. Carson Palmer, QB, CIN 7. Derek Anderson, QB, CLE Tier Three 8. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA 9. Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI 10. Jay Cutler, QB, DEN 11. Brett Favre, QB, NYJ 12. Marc Bulger, QB, STL 13. Eli Manning, QB, NYG 14. David Garrard, QB, JAX 15. Philip Rivers, QB, SD 16. Jake Delhomme, QB, CAR Tier Four 17. Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB 18. Jon Kitna, QB, DET 19. Matt Schaub, QB, HOU 20. Jason Campbell, QB, WSH Tier Five 21. Vince Young, QB, TEN 22. Matt Leinart, QB, ARI 23. Kurt Warner, QB, ARI 24. Jeff Garcia, QB, TB 25. JaMarcus Russell, QB, OAK Running Backs Tier One 1. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB SD 2. Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN 3. Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI 4. Joseph Addai, RB, IND 5. Stephen Jackson, RB, STL Tier Two 6. Clinton Portis, RB, WSH 7. Marion Barber III, RB DAL 8. Frank Gore, RB, SF 9. Marshawn Lynch, RB, BUF 10. Larry Johnson, RB, KC 11. Ryan Grant, RB, GB Tier Three 12. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAX 13. Willis McGahee, RB, BAL 14. Jamal Lewis, RB, CLE 15. Willie Parker, RB, PIT 16. Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG 17. Laurence Maroney, RB, NE 18. Darren McFadden, RB, OAK 19. Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA 20. Reggie Bush, RB, NO 21. Michael Turner, RB, ATL 22. Earnest Graham, RB, TB 23. Thomas Jones, RB, NYJ 24. Edgerrin James, RB, ARI 25. LenDale White, RB, TEN Tier Four 26. Selvin Young, RB, DEN 27. Fred Taylor, RB, JAX 28. Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR 29. Kevin Smith, RB, DET 30. Matt Forte, RB, CHI 31. Julius Jones, RB, SEA 32. Rudi Johnson, RB, CIN 33. DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR 34. Felix Jones, RB, DAL 35. Chester Taylor, RB, MIN 36. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT 37. Justin Fargas, RB, OAK 38. Ahman Green, RB, HOU Tier Five 39. Deuce McAllister, RB, NO 40. Chris Johnson, RB, TEN 41. Jerious Norwood, RB, ATL 42. Chris Brown, RB, HOU 43. Tatum Bell, RB, DET 44. Ricky Williams, RB, MIA 45. Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG 46. Kenny Watson, RB, CIN 47. Leon Washington, RB, NYJ 48. Ladell Betts, RB, WSH 49. Derrick Ward, RB, NYG 50. DeShaun Foster, RB, CAR 51. Maurice Morris, RB, SEA 52. Kolby Smith, RB, KC 53. LaMont Jordan, RB, NE 54. Kevin Faulk, RB, NE 55. Sammy Morris, RB, NE 56. T.J. Duckett, RB, SEA 57. Kevin Jones, RB, CHI 58. Jamaal Charles, RB, KC 59. Warrick Dunn, RB, TB Tier Six 60. Aaron Stecker, RB, NO 61. Dominic Rhodes, RB, IND 62. Adrian Peterson, RB, CHI 63. Michael Bush, RB, OAK 64. Lorenzo Booker, RB, PHI 65. Ryan Torain, RB, DEN 66. Andre Hall, RB, DEN 67. Brandon Jackson, RB, GB 68. Pierre Thomas, RB, NO 69. Fred Jackson, RB, BUF 70. Michael Pittman, RB, DEN Wide Receivers Tier One 1. Randy Moss, WR, NE 2. Terrell Owens, WR, DAL 3. Reggie Wayne, WR, IND 4. Braylon Edwards, WR, CLE Tier Two 5. Andre Johnson, WR, HOU 6. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI 7. Marques Colston, WR, NO 8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, CIN 9. Steve Smith, WR, CAR 10. Plaxico Burress, WR, NYG 11. Torry Holt, WR, STL 12. Wes Welker, WR, NE 13. Chad Johnson, WR, CIN 14. Anquan Boldin, WR, ARI Tier Three 15. Brandon Marshall, WR, DEN 16. Santonio Holmes, WR, PIT 17. Greg Jennings, WR, GB 18. Roy Williams, WR, DET 19. Marvin Harrison, WR, IND 20. Calvin Johnson, WR, DET 21. Hines Ward, WR, PIT 22. Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC 23. Laveranues Coles, WR, NYJ 24. Lee Evans, WR, BUF 25. Roddy White, WR, ATL 26. Chris Chambers, WR, SD 27. Jerricho Cotchery, WR, NYJ 28. Kevin Curtis, WR, PHI 29. Bernard Berrian, WR, MIN 30. Donald Driver, WR, GB 31. Joey Galloway, WR, TB 32. Santana Moss, WR, WSH Tier Four 33. Anthony Gonzalez, WR, IND 34. Javon Walker, WR, OAK 35. Derrick Mason, WR, BAL 36. Patrick Crayton, WR, DAL 37. Nate Burleson, WR, SEA 38. Donte? Stallworth, WR, CLE 39. Isaac Bruce, WR, SF 40. Reggie Brown, WR, PHI 41. Jerry Porter, WR, JAX 42. Reggie Williams, WR, JAX 43. Bobby Engram, WR, SEA 44. Vincent Jackson, WR, SD 45. D.J. Hackett, WR, CAR 46. Ronald Curry, WR, OAK 47. Sidney Rice, WR, MIN 48. Jabar Gaffney, WR, NE 49. Bryant Johnson, WR, SF 50. Justin Gage, WR, TEN 51. Drew Bennett, WR, STL 52. Darrell Jackson, WR, DEN 53. Mark Clayton, WR, BAL 54. Ted Ginn Jr., WR, MIA 55. Amani Toomer, WR, NYG 56. Roydell Williams, WR, TEN 57. Antwaan Randle El, WR, WSH 58. Ernest Wilford, WR, MIA 59. Deion Branch, WR, SEA 60. Kevin Walter, WR, HOU 61. Muhsin Muhammad, WR, CAR 62. Devin Hester, WR, CHI Tier Five 63. Shaun McDonald, WR, DET 64. Brandon Stokley, WR, DEN 65. Steve Smith, WR, NYG 66. David Patten, WR, NO 67. James Jones, WR, GB 68. Arnaz Battle, WR, SF 69. Marty Booker, WR, CHI 70. Chris Perry, WR, CIN 71. Laurent Robinson, WR, ATL 72. Andre? Davis, WR, HOU 73. DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI 74. Bobby Wade, WR, MIN 75. James Hardy, WR, BUF Tight Ends Tier One 1. Antonio Gates, TE, SD 2. Jason Witten, TE, DAL 3. Kellen Winslow, TE, CLE 4. Tony Gonzalez, TE, KC Tier Two 5. Chris Cooley, TE, WSH 6. Dallas Clark, TE, IND 7. Jeremy Shockey, TE, NO 8. Heath Miller, TE, PIT 9. Todd Heap, TE, BAL 10. Vernon Davis, TE, SF Tier Three 11. Owen Daniels, TE, HOU 12. Tony Scheffler, TE, DEN 13. Alge Crumpler, TE, TEN 14. Benjamin Watson, TE, NE 15. Donald Lee, TE, GB 16. Greg Olsen, TE, CHI 17. L.J. Smith, TE, PHI Tier Four 18. Zach Miller, TE, OAK 19. Leonard Pope, TE, ARI 20. Kevin Boss, TE, NYG 21. Ben Utecht, TE, CIN 22. Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ Kickers Tier One 1. Nick Folk, K, DAL 2. Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE 3. Shayne Graham, K, CIN 4. Phil Dawson, K, CLE 5. Adam Vinatieri, K, IND 6. Nate Kaeding, K, SD 7. Mason Crosby, K, GB 8. Robbie Gould, K, CHI 9. Josh Brown, K, STL 10. Jeff Reed, K, PIT Defensive/Special Teams Tier One 1. San Diego Chargers 2. Minnesota Vikings 3. Chicago Bears Tier Two 4. New York Giants 5. Green Bay Packers 6. Pittsburgh Steelers 7. Dallas Cowboys 8. New England Patriots 9. Seattle Seahawks 10. Jacksonville Jaguars 11. Indianapolis Colts Tier Three 12. Baltimore Ravens 13. Philadelphia Eagles 14. Tennessee Titans 15. Arizona Cardinals Have a FFL question? Send Andrew a note and it may appear in a future mailbag edition. Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com