S.D. backup a real head Turner
By RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
The Jets have cobbled together a respectable running game without a true No. 1 back, but they need an every-down runner with home-run potential to reduce the pressure on Chad Pennington and lift the offense to another level. They have only five runs of 20-plus yards.
Remember this name: Michael Turner.
He's LaDainian Tomlinson's backup, so you probably don't know much about him, but the Jets do. Turner will be a restricted free agent after the season, and league insiders believe the Jets will be in hot pursuit.
The 5-10, 237-pound Turner has good size and speed, evidenced by his gaudy per-carry average (5.9 yards for his career). He has only 58 rushes this season, including five in the 20-plus category - same as the Jets.
The Jets have an insider's knowledge of Turner, 24, because offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was on the Chargers' staff for Turner's first two seasons.
The Chargers will put a first-round tender on him and will have the right of first refusal, but they will have to let him go to the highest bidder because they can't afford to pay Turner and Tomlinson. The Jets have the ammunition to make a deal because they own two second-round picks in 2007.
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