There was some social media hullabaloo recently after disgruntled Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon followed the Eagles on Instagram.

Conspiracy theorists jumped all over it — were the Eagles trading for the Pro Bowler, currently locked in a holdout for a new contract?

It seems there might’ve been some smoke to that fire, at least according to MMQB’s Albert Breer.

Per Breer, the Eagles were the only offer he could unearth that the Chargers had received for Gordon.

The offer, per Breer: The Eagles trade running back Jordan Howard to the Chargers for Gordon, the two teams swap mid-round draft picks and the Chargers would eat some of Gordon’s salary for 2019.

Did a little digging around on the Melvin Gordon trade market. To give you an idea of where it is, only offer I came across was from Philly.



In that deal, Jordan Howard would go to LA, the teams would swap mid-round picks, and the Chargers would eat salary. LA obviously said no. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 4, 2019

It is both not surprising that the Eagles structured an offer this way, or that the Chargers rejected it. From the Eagles perspective, it makes sense to at least ask. Gordon is one of the 10-to-15 best running backs in the NFL and a two-time Pro Bowler who, even with impressive rookie Miles Sanders in the fold, would be a massive upgrade to the Eagles offense.

Gordon has accumulated at least 800 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in each of the last three seasons and averaged 50 receptions over that stretch. From the Eagles perspective, it doesn’t make sense to offer much more since, in theory, they’d have to sign the 26-year-old to a new contract if he was traded to them, and they’d be negotiating with Gordon and his representation at a disadvantage.

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The Chargers would get one of the NFL’s most productive running backs over the last three years (Howard) but also reportedly were seeking a first-round pick in exchange for Gordon.

Either way, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is smart enough to at least try, even if it was unlikely the Chargers would ever accept the offer.

Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.