Lull in Talks Is Frustrating for Richards : Chargers: Holdout guard says neither he nor his agent has heard from Beathard in a week.

Offensive guard David Richards, one of the Chargers’ five remaining holdouts, said Sunday he is baffled by the lack of attention he is receiving from General Manager Bobby Beathard.

Richards, a fourth-year player from UCLA, said neither he nor his agent Randy Vataha has heard from Beathard in more than a week.

“I kind of feel like I fell off the face of the earth,” Richards said.

“I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard anything. I don’t really understand it. But I guess that’s been the prevailing attitude since I’ve been here--guys that have done a lot for the team have been ignored.”

Richards said disgruntled defensive lineman Lee Williams--who has vowed never to play for the Chargers while claiming the team has mistreated him--is one of those guys.

“I know he sounds like a crying athlete, but he’s got a legitimate gripe,” Richards said.

If the Chargers were to trade Williams, Richards said it would be a mistake.

“Lee Williams is one of the three best defensive lineman in the league,” Richards said. “I’ve practiced against him a lot. He’s made me a better player.

“I’d hate to see him go. Wherever he went, I would hope he went somewhere where I didn’t have to play against him. He’s the kind of guy who can ruin your career.”

When he isn’t waiting for the phone to ring, Richards said he has been running and playing golf. He said he is near his reporting weight of 315 pounds.

Last year, Richards held out for eight days before signing a one-year contract. But he felt this year would be different.

“I really thought this holdout would last a couple of hours--two or three days at the most,” he said. “But it’s turned into a big ordeal.”

Richards said he originally thought the Chargers were not far from meeting his demands.

“I guess I thought we were closer than we actually were,” Richards said. “We’ve come down. It’s not like we haven’t budged at all.

“This is the ugly part of it. The fans can’t stand this side of football and I understand that. You have a guy complaining about $25,000 to $30,000 when he’s going to make $500,000.”

Although he is eager to report, Richards said he won’t give in.

“I tell my agent to get this thing done,” he said. “But I’ve enjoyed some success and it’s time for me to be compensated in regard to what other people around the league are getting.”

During his three years with the Chargers, Richards has started every game, including the past 32 at right guard. His 48 consecutive starts are the fourth-most on the team.

“I’m not asking to make more money than Jim Lachey (of the Washington Redskins),” he said. “I just want to be treated fairly.”

Richards said there are some inequities in football contracts that he will never understand.

“Burt Grossman goes out there and plays on some of the downs and gets 10 sacks,” he said. “I go out there and play 65 snaps a game and never leave the field. If I give up 10 sacks, they’re going to hang me in front of Jack Murphy Stadium. And old Burt makes five times what I make.”

In lieu of the Chargers’ injury problems on the offensive line--tackles Leo Goeas and Mike Withycombe and guard Mike Zandofsky are nursing minor ailments--Richards said he expects Vataha to hear from Beathard this week.

But Beathard said injuries to others will not dictate how he negotiates with Richards or right tackle Broderick Thompson, who is also holding out in a contract dispute.

Also still absent from training camp are No. 1 draft pick Stanley Richard and running back Marion Butts.

“We’d like to have (Richards and Thompson) here, but we’re not going to do something that would be unfair to the rest of the guys,” Beathard said. “I feel we’ve been extremely fair.”

Beathard said he has no planned talks with Vataha.

“I don’t know what the next move is, but I assume we’ll be talking Richards’ and Thompson’s agents this week,” he said.

Said Richards: “It’s getting down to the point where we will need to get to camp for the team’s sake. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to come running to camp.”