Chargers Inquire About Deion Sanders

SAN DIEGO —  The agent for Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders said Thursday that the Chargers have called to inquire about Sanders’ status in Sunday’s draft. And, he said, Sanders could be had by the Chargers in a first-round trade with the Detroit Lions.

Sanders, according to the Chargers, is the best cornerback to come out of college in the past decade. His nickname is “Neon Deion.” The Chargers’ concern is that Sanders might opt to play baseball. He currently is a member of the Yankee minor league system.

But his agent, Chicago attorney Steve Zucker, said Sanders is committed to playing professional football. And, Zucker said, he thinks the Detroit Lions will be willing to trade the third pick in the draft--a pick the Chargers would almost certainly use to select Sanders--to a team that makes the right offer. The Chargers own the eighth pick in the first round.

Dallas already has signed UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman as the first pick. Green Bay has said it plans to take Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich with the second. Sanders is the next highest rated player available.

Zucker said he spoke with Les Miller, the Chargers’ director of college scouting, by phone Wednesday. “It was just exploratory,” Zucker said. “They wanted to know Deion’s status.”

Zucker also said he doesn’t believe reports that the Lions will choose Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders with the third pick. A source close to Detroit General Manager Jerry Vainisi confirmed that Vainisi is open to offers for the third pick.

The Lions recently hired Mouse Davis as offensive coordinator to install the “run-and-shoot” offense. And the Lions are more interested in a “big” back who can run, catch and block NFL-sized people. Barry Sanders is 5-8.

Zucker also said Deion Sanders doesn’t want to play in Detroit and refused to go there for tests when the Lions requested that he do so.

Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers’ director of football operations, has said all along that Aikman was the only player who interested the Chargers in a trade-up deal. But Aikman is gone now.

Thursday, Ortmayer stopped short of saying the Chargers are seeking to trade for Deion Sanders but did admit they want to be sure about his baseball status. “We’re working on it,” Ortmayer said. Hence the call from Miller.

Last week Ortmayer said Sanders was “the kind of guy you can turn a corner position over to for 10 years. And we don’t have a problem with his (flashy) personality.”

The price for Deion Sanders would be steep. The Chargers would have to surrender their first-round pick to the Lions, plus an expensive package that would include players, draft picks or both.

But cornerback is one of the Chargers’ most pressing needs, along with quarterback and outside linebacker. Zucker said Sanders has said San Diego is a team he would like to play for. “Deion’s from Florida,” Zucker said. “He wants to play in warm weather.”

In other Charger news, the team finally has solved the preseason scheduling problem that initially had them playing two road games in less than 48 hours. Instead of playing the Rams Aug. 21 and the 49ers Aug. 23, they will now play in Chicago Aug. 19 and in San Francisco Aug. 23. (The Rams will play Phoenix Aug. 21; the Cardinals had been scheduled to play the Bears on Aug. 19.)

The Chargers also announced Thursday the signings of free agent defensive end Kevin Biggers, wide receiver Clint Sampson and defensive end Leonard Johnson. Sampson earned All-WAC honors at San Diego State in 1982 before becoming a third-round draft pick of the Broncos in 1983.