Chargers: Out With Cade, Maybe in With Anderson

A year and a half after it began, the Mossy Cade saga was resolved Thursday when the Chargers sent the defensive back to the Green Bay Packers for two draft choices, including a first-round pick in 1986.

And the Chargers took a major step toward the acquisition of Gary Anderson when team owner Alex Spanos worked out a deal with the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits for the rights to the running back.

Spanos said he had agreed to buy out Anderson’s existing contract and had submitted a new four-year contractual proposal to the player.

Anderson, one of three first-round picks by San Diego in 1983, has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to accept or reject the Charger offer, Spanos said.

The Charger owner came to terms on the remaining year of Anderson’s USFL contract with Lee Scarfone, head of a Tampa group that has an option to purchase the Bandits from John Bassett. Scarfone was reportedly seeking $750,000, but it isn’t believed Spanos went that high.

“I can only pay so much for his release and a signing bonus,” Spanos said. “Now it’s up to Gary to make the numbers work. I want him in camp by next Tuesday afternoon, but I don’t really expect him, at this point. I might give him an extra day if we’re close.”

Spanos, saying he was “elated and tickled” to receive a first-round pick for Cade, vowed he would under no circumstances trade the rights to Anderson. “He will either play in San Diego or in Tampa Bay, I can assure you of that,” Spanos declared.

Cade, San Diego’s first pick in the 1984 draft, never played a down for the Chargers, but was in and out of the headlines for 18 months through a controversial set of on-again, off-again negotiations.

Cade, who played for the Memphis Showboats of the USFL after he was unable to come to terms with the Chargers last year, was dealt away after one last bid to resolve his differences with the Chargers.

Along with agent Jon Teer, the young defensive back from the University of Texas requested and was granted an audience with Spanos a week ago.

That meeting was unsatisfactory to both parties, with Spanos saying he had met Cade’s asking price of a multi-year contract for $1.55 million, and the agent contending that too much of the money was deferred.

The Chargers then engaged in efforts to trade the disgruntled player, who came to terms with the Packers on a multi-year deal Thursday. “We got what the quality corners were getting this year,” Teer said.

He indicated Cade had sought a package similar to those signed by Derrick Burroughs of Buffalo and Richard Johnson of Houston, both of whom received four-year contracts valued at $1.7 million.

Although the Chargers did not officially announce the terms of the Cade transaction, it was learned that San Diego obtained a first-round pick next year and a conditional middle-round selection in 1987.

The Chargers, who in recent years were willing to trade future picks for veteran players, have reversed that policy, and now are attempting to stockpile selections in the rich 1986 draft.

Earlier this week, the Chargers sent running back Earnest Jackson to Philadelphia for fourth- and seventh-round picks in the ’86 draft, and traded receiver Bobby Duckworth to the Los Angeles Rams for offensive lineman Gary Kowalski and a future draft pick.

The Chargers were willing to part with Cade because of the promise of their young defensive backfield, which includes Danny Walters and Wayne Davis on the corners with Gill Byrd and Jeff Dale at safety.

Cade would have been a very desirable addition, but he was not needed as desperately as he was a year ago, a consideration that likely added to the impasse in the negotiations.

Ron Nay, the Chargers’ head scout and top-level adviser to Spanos, said Cade is every bit as good as projected and will be a quality player for the Packers.

“We’re sorry we couldn’t work it out with Mossy, because we went a long way with him,” Nay said. “At the same time, we had a chance to improve our team, and we are glad to pick up some additional future draft choices.

“I think our secondary is the equal of just about any in pro football now in terms of speed and physical ability. We still need more experience, but we now have the speed, quickness and size that we’ve needed.”

Nay said the Chargers are “tickled” with the play of the rookies, Dale and Davis, and are expecting to field their finest defensive secondary of the 1980s.

Asked about his claim that the backfield is approaching the level of the NFL’s best, Nay said, “Once we get the experience, we will be all right back there . . . Even the Raiders don’t scare us. They have two great cornerbacks in Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes, and their overall team defense probably is the best in football today. But we’re getting there.”