Chargers Look Past Eligible Receivers : NFL:Despite noted problems at the position, the team will not go after players such as Louis Lipps, Stephone Paige or Webster Slaughter.

Consider the Chargers’ present problems at wide receiver, and then take note:

Wide receiver Stephone Paige is available.

Wide receiver Louis Lipps is available.

And on Tuesday, if a judge rules in the players’ favor as expected, former San Diego State wide receiver Webster Slaughter will be available.

The Chargers are not interested.

Although the Chargers intend to meet Monday and discuss the possibility of terminating their rights to unsigned nose tackle Joe Phillips, they already have decided there is no reason to pursue Paige, Lipps or Slaughter, who have combined to catch 1,140 passes, including 115 for touchdowns.

The Chiefs terminated rights to Paige last week after they were unwilling to meet his contract proposals. The Steelers did the same Thursday with Lipps. The Browns have been unable to reach an agreement with Slaughter, but they might not have a hold on his rights come Tuesday.

The Chargers were interested in Slaughter earlier, but Beathard said Friday the Chargers will not pursue Slaughter if he becomes available.

He said the same goes for Paige or Lipps.

“We’re going to go with what we have,” Beathard said. “I think we can get what we need out of what we have. We just have to do it better than what he have been doing.”

The Charger receivers will enter Sunday’s game with Pittsburgh having dropped 13 passes. The longest reception by a wide receiver is 17 yards by Anthony Miller. The lone touchdown for receivers was a 2-yard pass to Nate Lewis.

Shawn Jefferson and Robert Claiborne, the Chargers’ Nos. 2 and 3 wide receivers, have combined to catch 16 passes in their brief careers.

“When guys like this become available, we look at a lot of tapes,” Beathard said. “What fans seem to remember is the player when he was at his best. And that isn’t the case with any of these. You just don’t go after them because of the name. What are you getting?

“In most cases you’re not getting what they once were, and I think we’re better off staying where we are. We think that the guys we have can be a hell of a lot better than what we’ve seen so far, and we have reason to believe they will do it.”

Paige, Lipps and Slaughter each have been asking for more than $1 million a year to sign. Beathard, however, said the players’ salary proposals are not an issue with the Chargers.

“We have young guys with speed, and we talk to the coaching staff all the time,” Beathard said. “They feel that these guys are going to pull out of this.”

Meanwhile, Judge David Doty, who presided in the antitrust lawsuit recently won by the players, is scheduled to rule Tuesday on the claim of 10 unsigned players, including Slaughter and Phillips, who say they are entitled to total free agency.

Four of the 10 unsigned players, who initially asked for Doty’s ruling, already have been released. In addition to Paige and Lipps, the Bengals terminated rights to linebacker Leon White and defensive end Natu Tuatagaloa.

Beathard said earlier the Chargers would not unconditionally release Phillips, but there appears a possibility now that the team might set him free Monday in the anticipation of the judge doing so Tuesday.

“It’s obviously an option,” Beathard said. “We’ve thought about it, but we haven’t made a decision. We have a game to play Sunday, and we’ll wait to talk about Joe Phillips on Monday.”

Beathard informed Phillips’ agent, David Morway, that he will discuss Phillips’ situation Monday.

If the judge fails to grant the players their freedom Tuesday, Phillips’ rights would continue to belong to the Chargers. Beathard has indicated that Phillips will not play for the Chargers this season, and he said Friday that there are no real possibilities of trading him now.