EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The San Diego Chargers made it abundantly clear Tuesday that the plan put forth by the city of San Diego to have a public vote before the end of the year to help fund a new football stadium simply isn't going to work.

In the process, the Chargers appear to be taking another step closer to Los Angeles, presumably toward the project they co-opt with the Oakland Raiders in Carson, California, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the LA Daily News.

The Chargers released a statement effectively declaring that they don't see a viable way to put the measure on the ballot before December.

"Based on all of this work and discussion, the Chargers have concluded that it is not possible to place a ballot measure before voters in December 2015 in a legally defensible manner given the requirements of the State’s election law and the California Environmental Quality Act," the statement read, in part.

The December timeline is important because that is around the time the league is expected to start making decisions on which teams will be allowed to move to Los Angeles and when. The Chargers and Raiders have been working together on a stadium project in Carson while the St. Louis Rams and owner Stan Kroenke have been doing the same in Inglewood.

It should come as little surprise that the Chargers look like they could be on their way out and Tuesday's news offered another reminder of how real that possibility is. The real question remains where that will happen. While Carson is the option on the table now, there are still many who believe they could end up in Inglewood with the Rams.

The theory goes that Inglewood is the more shovel-ready project backed by a wealthier owner and if Kroenke proved willing to play ball on a lease for the Chargers, the league could look past some of the arguments against his moving the team to Los Angeles.

As always with this saga, there are plenty of twists and turns that still figure to happen before anything is finalized.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Tuesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we opened the day with a look at where some former Rams quarterbacks rank amongst the best backups in the league. ... Cornerback E.J. Gaines is working to solidify a starting job on the outside. ... Fox broadcaster Joe Buck offered his services to narrate the latest proposed St. Louis stadium video. ... Rams center Tim Barnes hopes to parlay his experience into a starting job. ... The Rams and quarterback Nick Foles are in the early stages of some long-term contract discussions. ... The Rams released their 2015 training camp schedule. ... Coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams practicing near Los Angeles has everything to do with football and nothing to do with relocation. ... The Rams enlisted the help of a new social media company to educate players on best practices.

Elsewhere:

Here's the link to the video with Buck narrating the proposed stadium video.

At 101sports.com, Rams punter Johnny Hekker discussed all things Rams with the guys from "The Turn."

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz writes that just because the Rams might move to Los Angeles doesn't mean their fortunes will change.

David Hunn reports on the latest in the stadium lawsuit saga.

ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio writes that the NFL's return to Los Angeles in 2016 is inevitable.