Phillips, Still a Charger, Is Still Idle : Football: With no movement on the trade front, the nose tackle seems destined to sit out the season.

It is beginning to look as if holdout nose tackle Joe Phillips will sit out the season rather than play with Chargers.

John Adler, Phillips’ agent, met with General Manager Bobby Beathard for nearly an hour Tuesday but walked away disappointed.

“I really felt that we would have some movement toward getting Joe moved,” Adler said. “I thought that the Chargers would make a move after the cut-downs.”

Adler has repeatedly asked the Chargers to trade Phillips. He said that request did not change Tuesday.

“I wanted to make whatever effort I could to try and get this resolved so that Joe is somewhere and available before the first week of the season,” he said.

But after his meeting with Beathard Adler said the chance of that happening is “highly unlikely.” Adler, however, said he doesn’t totally blame Beathard for his failure to trade Phillips.

“My understanding is the Chargers have not been unreasonable in what they’re seeking for Joe Phillips,” Adler said. “They feel as though they’re losing one of their starters and they want somebody else’s starter back. Teams aren’t prepared to fill a hole by trading and creating a hole.

“I don’t think it has to do with Joe’s value. I think it is difficult making a trade in the NFL when you seek to trade a non-Pro Bowl player starter for somebody else’s.”

Beathard said that is not necessarily true.

“It’s easy to trade a guy if people want him,” Beathard said. “We can’t really sell a guy. People watch films and they can tell whether they want a guy or not.”

Beathard spoke with Philadelphia on Tuesday about Phillips, but the Eagles’ lost interest when they acquired a defensive player later in the day.

“There was only very mild interest anyway,” Beathard said.

With the opening of the season four days away, Adler said Phillips is prepared to sit out the 1992 season.

What does Phillips accomplish by not playing?

“He’s gaining the opportunity to play football for a different club,” Adler said. “That’s very important to him.”

Important enough to relinquish a year’s salary? Phillips made $485,000 last season and another $50,000 in bonus money.

“In a purely economic sense, no worker would have ever gone out on strike in the history of trade unions,” Adler said. “That analysis isn’t always the guiding analysis.”

The Chargers recalled defensive tackle Tony Savage and wide receiver Walter Stanley off waivers and claimed H-back Alfred Pupunu from the Kansas City Chiefs.

To make room for the three players, they put strong safety James Fuller (knee) and offensive tackle Eric Jonassen on the injured reserve list and cornerback Marquez Pope on the reserve/non-football illness list with a virus.

Pupunu, a rookie free agent from Weber State, caught four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown during the preseason. At Weber State last year, he caught 93 passes to lead all NCAA Division I--AA receivers. His receptions went for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“I remember I saw him in the combine and I was amazed at how he caught the ball,” Coach Bobby Ross said. “We looked at a number of people and we felt Alfred was our best choice.”

But do the Chargers really need another H-back? Or did they acquire Pupunu in hopes of getting inside information on the Chiefs, their opponent this Sunday in the season opener?

“If he’s got it, all’s fair in love and war,” Ross said with a laugh. “I mean we’ll address that, but I don’t know if that’s going to be a significant thing. He’s going to have so many things to be learning here.”

Pupunu and Steve Hendrickson will back up Derrick Walker at H-back. Ross said Hendrickson will continue to play H-back and linebacker.

“He gets no rest,” Ross said. “Steve has the endurance of a thoroughbred. He might be one of our most valuable players.”

Ross said the club kept Stanley, a seven-year veteran, over Yancey Thigpen, a second-year player, because of his experience. Stanley caught seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. Thigpen, a fourth-round draft choice from Winston-Salem State, was not claimed by any other NFL team.

The club also indicated that receiver Robert Claiborne, running back Peter Tuipulotu, tackle Arthur Paul and guard Terry Beauford probably will be signed to the team’s developmental squad. Rookie receiver Johnnie Barnes is another candidate for the five-man developmental team. But Beathard said he is scanning the waiver wire for other possibilities.

The team released its injury report for Sunday’s opener against Kansas City: Receiver Shawn Jefferson (thigh) and guard Mike Zandofsky (knee) are questionable. Cornerbacks Gill Byrd (neck) and Donald Frank (shoulder), center Courtney Hall (shin), guard David Richards (back), linebackers Henry Rolling and Billy Ray Smith (thigh) and tackle George Thornton (shin) are probable.

Ross said he hopes Jefferson, the team’s third wide receiver who didn’t catch a pass in the preseason, can be 90% healthy by Sunday.

“I was real high on Shawn in the spring and early camp,” Ross said. “Then when he got hurt, his performance is like any other player, it starts to level off. It would be nice to have him back at full speed because I think he’s a real weapon.”