Richard Does Turnaround, OKs Deal

Minutes before kickoff for the Chargers preseason opener Saturday, General Manager Bobby Beathard was telling Channel 8 viewers what a terrible mistake No. 1 draft pick Stanley Richard was making.

“I thought our proposal could stand up to anybody else’s,” Beathard said.

Minutes later, Beathard was all smiles after coming out of his third meeting of the day with Richard’s lawyer Chris Knepp--the second meeting was held in Beathard’s office an hour before the game.

It was evident that Beathard no longer thought Richard was making such a terrible mistake. Richard, a 6-foot-2, 197-pound free safety from Texas, had agreed to a three-year contract and would report to camp Monday.

Richard would not say what changed his mind between 6:30 p.m. and 6:45.

“I guess both sides got a chance to reconsider certain things,” Richard said.

It’s more likely that Richard decided to reconsider certain things. Beathard said he had made his final offer in the 6 p.m. meeting. When he went back to meet with Richard just before game time, he said his offer did not change.

“We made some minor adjustments,” Beathard said. “We shuffled money around in different ways.”

Said Knepp: “Both sides moved. We both studiously avoided putting ourself in concrete.”

Beginning today at 4 p.m., Richard was faced with the prospect of losing money for every day he held out.

“I heard about the deadline, but I was not concerned about it,” Richard said.

But Richard was concerned about missing out on the game he loves to play.

“I saw all the fans coming to game,” he said. “I knew I had to be out there. I don’t like watching in the stands.”

Beathard didn’t know why Richard suddenly changed his mind, but he did speculate that Richard was getting antsy.

“I imagine it’s because he wanted to play football,” he said.

Said Knepp: “We had our own time frame in mind. That 4 p.m. deadline gave us something to think about. This weekend was a good time to get it done.

Richard and Beathard said it also helped that they finally were meeting face to face. Neither Knepp nor Richard had met with Beathard since training camp. Until Saturday, all the negotiating was done by phone.

“I think meeting face to face helped,” Beathard said. “But whether face to face or on the phone, it still comes down to money.”

Beathard would not disclose what the financial terms of the contract, except to say that it was a three-year deal.

Now that Richard has finally signed, he is faced with the task of taking the starting free safety job away from Anthony Shelton in three weeks. Richard seems confident things will work out.

“Starting is in the back of my mind,” he said. “You can’t play the game from the bench. If I can prove that I can handle it, then I should play. If I can’t prove it in a week, then I don’t deserve to start.”

Richard is asking a lot of himself. He also continues to believe that learning the Chargers defensive scheme will not be that difficult.

“The defense at Texas is complicated,” he said. “If you can learn that defense, then you can learn the pro defense. I have a lot of confidence in myself.”