Pops still wants to play.
In San Diego, his Chargers teammates affectionately gave receiver Keenan McCardell that name. At 37, he's the oldest receiver in the league so he understood and actually took to it.
But that doesn't mean McCardell is ready for the bingo and shuffleboard circuit. He still yearns to play.
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| Keenan McCardell has piqued interest, but no buyers yet. (Getty Images) |
He just needs to find a new team. The Chargers released him after the 2006 season, opting to go to a younger group of receivers. It was a move made for cap reasons, as well as age reasons.
With a little over a month left before training camps open, McCardell is still on the street. He has talked with several teams, including the Saints, Vikings, Titans and Texans, but so far has not signed. The Texans, in his hometown of Houston, visited with him on Tuesday, but they offered only a veteran minimum deal. He's still waiting for something more.
"We'll see where it goes," McCardell said. "I want to play. I know I can still help a team win."
McCardell has never been a burner, and some in San Diego think he slowed down last year, which led to his catching just 36 passes in 14 games, his lowest number aside from his holdout year in 2004, since 1993. But there are other reasons, according to some Chargers players.
Here's the deal: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, now the coach of the Miami Dolphins, didn't like McCardell.
"He should have been on the field," said one Chargers player. "It was personal. There's no way Keenan shouldn't have been catching passes. What they did to him was wrong."
McCardell never spoke out. On a team that looked to him for leadership, he kept his mouth shut.
"I bit my tongue," McCardell said. "I've never really talked about it, but it was a bad situation. It was just a difference of philosophy with a coach. To be honest, I think it cost us a chance to go to a Super Bowl."
McCardell might have a point. The Chargers had the best record in the league, finishing at 14-2 and earning home-field advantage in the playoffs. But McCardell didn't start the playoff loss to New England, played little and didn't catch a pass. The two starters, Eric Parker and Vincent Jackson, combined for four catches for 84 yards and couple of key drops.
