Chargers Release Archer; Get Down to 3 Quarterbacks

He was the fourth quarterback, and there was really only room for three.

So David Archer, a veteran of six NFL seasons and a longtime favorite of Coach Dan Henning, was released by the Chargers Monday. He left camp quickly without much commotion, which, when you think about it, is about the way his career with the Chargers went. Quickly. Very little fanfare.

Billy Joe Tolliver, the Chargers’ starting quarterback, spoke with Archer briefly before he left camp. Tolliver has lost a bit of competition but also a friend.

“He was pretty down about it,” Tolliver said. “I hated that it was Dave because he’s a good friend of mine. When you’ve got a close friend and something happens to them you hurt a little bit, too. But Dave will be the first to tell you that you’ve got to press on.”

Archer was brought in by Henning to compete for the starting job at last summer’s camp. In 1986, when Henning was coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Archer was his starting quarterback. Atlanta and Archer made a big splash at the start of the season, when the Falcons won five of their first six games and Archer put together the top-rated passing statistics in the NFL.

Five games later, Archer separated his shoulder and his career has since been filled with a host of rejections. He has been cut four times in three years, and when Jim McMahon was shipped in from Chicago last August Archer became little more than a high-priced spectator.

Archer’s departure allows Henning to work the other three quarterbacks--Tolliver, Mark Vlasic and rookie John Friesz--with the frequency needed to evaluate them properly during preseason. Henning said Tolliver would likely get 50 snaps in practice, Vlasic and Friesz 25 apiece.

“At this time we can’t work more than three,” Henning said. “Over the last week I’ve evaluated the situation with John Friesz and Vlasic. I’ve seen some good improvement, some positive signs that their potential is higher than I thought it was in the spring.”

After being relegated to backup last season, Archer didn’t prove to be particularly valuable as a sideline quarterback. Considering Archer has only thrown 37 regular-season passes in the past three years and Henning thinks of him more as a starter than a backup, the decision was clear if not easy.

“It was a tough decision for Dan because he’s (Archer) been with Dan all that time,” Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard said. “But Dan just felt it was time to make the change.”

Archer had expressed concern throughout this camp that, unlike Henning, Beathard hadn’t had the opportunity to take a good look at him because of the limited number of snaps he was getting in practice.

To that, Beathard responded: “He’s wrong. I did know him. I’ve seen a lot of him. We had him in Washington.

“I think that Archer has been in the league long enough that what you see is what you get and I don’t think there’s any potential there. The other guy (Vlasic) continues to rise. How good he can get, I don’t know. But he’s still going in the right direction.”

Beathard said the Houston Oilers have expressed interest in Archer. Neither Archer nor his agent, Steve Feldman, could be reached for comment.

As for the Chargers’ current quarterback situation, the coaches will hold their breaths and hope Tolliver begins to show signs that he is capable of more than he produced in Saturday’s exhibition with the Phoenix Cardinals. In 24 plays he completed seven of 16 passes and threw two interceptions. Among them, the three remaining Charger quarterbacks have started seven games, which is cause for concern with the coaching staff.

“Sure it is,” Henning said. “It’s always a concern. When you have concerns you consider your alternatives and when you don’t think you have real good, viable alternatives then you don’t worry about it.”

Starting free safety Vencie Glenn ended a 10-day holdout by agreeing to a two-year contract and returning to camp in time to practice Monday afternoon.

Glenn, who has started 51 consecutive games for the Chargers, said he killed time during his holdout by playing golf and “sitting around and waiting.”

“It gets kind of frustrating because you don’t know what’s going to happen day to day,” he said. “The main thing you’ve got to do is stay positive.”

Glenn’s arrival reduced the holdout list to two: defensive end Leslie O’Neal and Junior Seau, the Chargers’ first-round draft selection.

Beathard met with Seau and his agent, Steve Feldman, Monday morning and Feldman made a new proposal, which Beathard said is still well above what the Chargers are prepared to offer.

“We had a pleasant meeting, but frustrating in a way because I think Junior is frustrated,” Beathard said. “It’s difficult for a young player to be directly involved in this because Junior wants to be here and Junior wants to be on the field.”

To keep their roster at the 80-man limit, the Chargers released free agent safety Tim Jackson and cornerback Keith Collins, a seventh-round draft choice from Appalachian State. Collins is the first draft selection to be released.

Tackle Joey Howard is scheduled for arthroscopic knee surgery today and rookie guard Chris Goetz will undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery Wednesday. Eric Floyd, a second-year tackle from Auburn, will likely take Howard’s place in practice.