Ryan Mathews’ replacement…

Sep 15, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Trent Cole (58) attempts to tackleSan Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (24) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chargers defeated the Eagles 33-30. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Hopefully this doesn’t have to happen, but if Mathews has another down year it might be time to go another direction even though his contract isn’t up until 2015. I remember when the Chargers drafted Ryan Mathews and just looking at his size people were talking about an LT clone and I’d have to agree.

Well he did have a pro bowl season, but he’s been far too inconsistent and has battled the injury bug. Now under Norv Turner, it probably wasn’t the system for him and had some bad luck (two broken collarbones in one season). I was definitely on the Mathews bandwagon even when he had a down year I still believed in him, but if this season is like last years then I’m going to jump off and not look back.

Now with Ryan Mathews’s replacement, are you ready?

He’s already in the NFL, he’s won of the best backups in the league, and he’ll be a Free Agent on 2014. I’m talking about RB Ben Tate from the Houston Texans. The Texans drafted Tate in the 2nd round in 2010 thinking he’d be their future RB, but some injuries came in and the unexpectedly rise of Arian Foster whom has already signed a long-term contract with Houston. There’s a reason why Houston splits carries between Foster and Tate, so they both can stay fresh and they both have a lot of talent.

That brings problems for Houston, but good news for the Chargers and other teams going after Tate next Free Agency. Arian Foster has already said he doesn’t like splitting carries because he wants to be that featured back which he deserves and Ben Tate has stated publicly his dream is to be an NFL starting RB. He could come back to Houston or the Texans can sign Brian Cushing to a long term deal.

Ben Tate will be a hot committee the off-season which is deserved. Some other teams are the Cleveland Browns who’ve just traded their franchise RB to the Colts for a first round pick. The Browns have already said they’ll be going after Ben Tate and are willing to pay him, but hopefully not too much so the Chargers can get him.

Other teams in need of a RB could be the Oakland Raiders if they don’t resign Darren McFadden and the Jaguars if the don’t resign MJD. I know its early talking about this, but I was thinking about it and got excited so I wrote about it. Their are probably other teams in the hunt so write them down and share your thoughts in the comment section below.