Austin Ekeler to stay with Chargers, reportedly agrees to restructured deal

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Austin Ekeler is remaining in Los Angeles for the final season of his contract.

The running back agreed to a restructured deal with the Chargers for the 2023 season that adds $1.75 million in incentives, ESPN reported Tuesday. Ekeler, who turned 28 on May 17, is entering the final year of a four-year, $24.5 million deal he signed in 2020, making him a free agent at season's end. He was originally scheduled to have a $6.25 million salary for the 2023 season. 

Ekeler approached the Chargers earlier in the offseason about a possible extension. Both sides weren't able to come to an agreement, so when the new league year began in March, the Chargers gave Ekeler permission to speak with other teams about a possible trade. 

Roughly a month after Ekeler began his search for a possible new home, he shared how he felt disrespected by the Chargers.

"I kind of got punched in the face when the Chargers basically said we don’t want to talk about extensions anymore," Ekeler said in an interview with SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. "This is an organization I continue to rise and hit new heights in. That’s how it felt. It felt like, wow, this was the first time in my career with them I felt disrespected by my own organization. It sucks. I want to be a Charger. I want to be there and it sucks because it’s like, let’s get something done."

Ekeler also said at the time that the "worst-case scenario" for him would be that he would still be on the Chargers' roster at the beginning of the 2023 season. 

Ekeler wasn't present when the Chargers began OTAs Monday, but coach Brandon Staley expected that the running back would return to the team for mandatory minicamp in June.

"The current state with Austin is that he's one of the top backs in the league over the last two seasons," Staley told reporters. "He's been a captain for us. We really have the utmost respect for him and the situation. It's been respectful on both sides. Looking forward to this spring. We'll give you guys updates, if there are any."

The Chargers added Ekeler as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and since Melvin Gordon's departure in 2020, Ekeler has proven to be one of the game's top dual-threat backs. He rushed for 915 yards and a league-high 13 touchdowns to go along with 107 receptions (the most for a running back) for 722 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns last season. He had 1,558 total yards and 20 combined touchdowns in 2021.