Report: Joe Barksdale visiting Chargers
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/18560/report-joe-barksdale-visiting-san-diego-chargers
SAN FRANCISCO — The curious case of offensive tackle Joe Barksdale added another interesting development Monday afternoon.
According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Barksdale is spending his day visiting the San Diego Chargers. Barksdale, of course, is the St. Louis Rams’ erstwhile free-agent right tackle.
Once thought to be one of the more coveted free-agent tackles on the market, Barksdale has remained available until now in large part because of a miscalculation of his value on the open market. Rams coach Jeff Fisher indicated at March’s owners meetings that Barksdale’s price had probably kept him from being signed and has since said on multiple occasions that the Rams still have interest in bringing Barksdale back.
San Diego’s interest stems from its flirtation with moving right tackle D.J. Fluker inside to guard. The Chargers haven’t made any definitive choice on that, though, and Fluker is still making first-round money. The team signed Chris Hairston to be its swing tackle on April 20 but Barksdale would presumably be seen as a possible starter.
Over the past two seasons, Barksdale has started 29 games at right tackle for the Rams. But St. Louis picked Wisconsin tackle Rob Havenstein in the second-round of this year’s draft and there’s a good chance he’ll plug in as the starter right away.
Although Fisher has publicly expressed interest in retaining Barksdale, it seems the chances of that happening have grown less and less likely. The Rams spent four draft picks on offensive linemen this year and signed swing tackle Garrett Reynolds as a free agent.
Barksdale’s market hasn’t been all that brisk, with various levels of interest from Tennessee and Atlanta in addition to San Diego and St. Louis.