Tomlinson thinks Rivers is sick of San Diego. (Getty Images)

We're continually told the idea of Philip Rivers being traded by the Chargers doesn't make sense. And yet the idea of a trade won't float away into the ether with the rest of the ridiculous offseason rumors. Instead it keeps percolating in the press, including a discussion on NFL Network Monday night with Rivers old teammate LaDainian Tomlinson.

Tomlinson, one of the all-time greats in Chargers history, believes Rivers has "lost confidence" in San Diego's organization.

"I don’t know if Philip wants to be there anymore. I think he’s lost confidence in the organization," Tomlinson said. "He’s seeing a lot of changes going on and the LA thing is valid; him not wanting to go to LA, that is very valid, I can see that."

Tomlinson attributed part of the issue to the team changing around Rivers. There's hardly anyone left from the "good old days" for Rivers -- aside from Antonio Gates and Eric Weddle, this is a very different Chargers team.  

"The parts around him keep on moving. The receiving corps keeps on changing; Eddie Royal is now gone. We talked about this before with Vincent Jackson leaving years ago. There are so many parts that are leaving where Philip is looking around that locker room and he doesn’t see anyone he’s familiar with other than Antonio Gates," Tomlinson said. "Now to that point, Antonio Gates next year is a free agent. Eric Weddle is going to be up. Next year the Chargers have a lot of decisions to make with a lot of key guys, so Philip could be looking at the situation and thinking we’re not close to winning a championship anytime soon."

Tomlinson had a difficult departure from the Chargers, albeit with a different regime in charge. He was older and was being pushed out but there are certainly similarities to a degree. Plus, Tomlinson knows Rivers pretty well. 

“I personally don’t think so. I really think this is a situation where Philip Rivers wants to move on," Rivers said. "The reason why I think that and the reason why I feel like that is the Chargers have already approached Philip about doing another contract and he declined it. He doesn’t want anything to do with it; he didn’t even want to talk about another contract with the San Diego Chargers. That tells me that he’s thinking about moving on.”

It's entirely possible that the whole idea of Los Angeles is just a good excuse for Rivers to bolt and that he doesn't like the direction San Diego's headed. If that's the case, and if the Chargers like Marcus Mariota, this potential trade has more legs than anyone would care to admit.