English remains unsigned

Thschedule firsts keep coming for Larry English.

The first NFL first round draft choice out of Northern Illinois University and Aurora when he was taken by San Diego this spring, English is now experiencing his first contract holdout.

It's not surprising, though. Only four first round draft choices have been signed so far. The number is expected to pick up this week as teams gear up for camps.

Charger rookies were scheduled to report to training camp on Sunday but English was not among them. According to Kevin Acee, Chargers' beat writer for the San Diego Union Tribune, the team has a history of taking its time signing first rounders and was just beginning preliminary talks with English's agent.
The team's veterans aren't scheduled to report until Friday.

Hoping to catch English, live, in action this season without traveling to the west coast?
You'll still have to do some traveling since the Chargers' schedule doesn't bring them too close to the area. The team's preseason road games are Aug. 22 at Phoenix and Aug. 29 at Atlanta.

During the regular season, the team's road schedule includes these dates and locations: Sept. 14 at Oakland; Oct. 4 at Pittsburgh; Oct. 25 at Kansas City; Nov. 8 at New York Giants; Nov. 22 at Denver; Dec. 6 at Cleveland; Dec. 13 at Dallas; Dec. 25 at Tennessee.

And if you were planning a vacation trip to San Diego for a training camp visit, be forewarned: the Chargers have closed their camp to the public this year. In February, a drainage pipe at their facility broke and resulted in a 40-foot deep sinkhole that had a diameter of 30 feet. Since repairs won't commence until later this month, the team is closing camp due to safety concerns. The drain line, apparently runs underneath bleachers used by fans to watch camp practices.

The team does have three night practices at Qualcomm Stadium that are open to the public: Aug. 5th, 8th, and 12th.