Buford Is Traded to the Bears
Punter Maury Buford was surprised in one respect, yet not surprised in another, when the Chargers traded him to the Chicago Bears for a conditional draft choice Tuesday.
Buford felt expendable after the Chargers drafted multi-purpose kicker Ralf Mojsiejenko in the fourth-round this year. He just didn’t expect the Chargers to get rid of him so soon.
“It was a shock,” Buford said Tuesday afternoon. “It came a week earlier than I thought.”
Without Buford, the Chargers will have a Rolf and Ralf Kicking Show. Rolf Benirschke will kick field goals, while Mojsiejenko will punt and kick off.
Buford, 25, had been the Charger punter the past three seasons. He averaged 42.6 yards per punt, a team career record.
“I’m just glad I’m getting a chance with somebody while the preseason is here,” Buford said. “It’s exciting. I’m going to miss San Diego. But if things are meant to be, you have to make the best of the situation.”
Buford said he was “not surprised” with the Chargers’ decision, noting he was only a punter and Mojsiejenko could punt, kick off and kick field goals. Coach Don Coryell agreed with the logic.
Though the kicking situation is settled, Coryell is still uncertain about keeping a third quarterback. Dan Fouts will be the Charger starter and Bruce Mathison his backup, but Coryell has not decided whether Mark Herrmann will be kept as a third quarterback.
Since the NFL has cut rosters from 49 to 45 players this year, all teams face the predicament of whether to carry three quarterbacks.
“All of us are in the same boat, so I don’t mind,” Coryell said. “This is a real problem with quarterbacks. I’d like to see them allow a third quarterback who couldn’t play unless the other two were hurt. A lot of people will gamble with two quarterbacks, and both could get hurt in a game. You could have a tight end playing quarterback on national TV. That would be terrible.”
Coryell has his “disaster quarterbacks,” ones with past quarterbacking experience who could be activated in case of an emergency. The list includes tight end Pete Holohan, wide receiver Wes Chandler and running back Buford McGee.
Concerning Saturday’s exhibition game at San Francisco, Coryell said Fouts will play the first quarter. Fouts also may play the first series of the third quarter, according to Coryell.
“We’d love to give Dan half of the game or more,” Coryell said. “He could always be hurt like Danny White was in overtime last week. That’d be a terrible thing to happen. We don’t want to risk it, especially when we want to give Mathison every down we can to see if he can do the job.”
For the third straight game, it appears Mathison will play a majority of the time and Herrmann none at all. Mathison, the Chargers’ third-string quarterback in 1984 when Ed Luther was here, has not started a game since high school. Herrmann, a fourth-year NFL player, was acquired in an off-season trade from Indianapolis.
Coryell was somewhat apologetic about Herrmann’s lack of playing time.
“Mark is a good quarterback, and we have confidence in him,” Coryell said. “He understands his situation. No, he doesn’t understand his situation. He’s a competitor who wants his shot. There’s no way we can get two second-string quarterbacks ready. Sure, he needs practice. He doesn’t need it desperately, like Mathison does.”
Tuesday, the Chargers trimmed their roster to 60 players. The lists:
Injured reserve--offensive tackles Drew Gissinger (back) and Scott Trimble (knee), running back Mark Schellen (hamstring), tight end Bret Pearson (hamstring), defensive end James Lockette (knee), linebacker Mike Guendling (knee) and safety Miles McPherson (knee).
Physically unable to perform--tight end Kellen Winslow and guard Derrell Gofourth.
Non-football injury in college--nose tackle Jeff Smith.
Unsigned--running back Wayne Morris.
Waivers--nose tackle Dewey Forte.
Coryell announced Monday that Forte had been waived, then the team later announced he had not been waived. Coryell explained the Chargers were hoping that they could trade Forte before 1 p.m. Tuesday, when they had to make a decision.
When the Chargers were unable to trade Forte, their only option was to place him on waivers.