Meet Travis Benjamin and Brandon Flowers of the San Diego Chargers

With training camp looming and football season around the corner, Chargers fans are gearing up for another year with the Bolts staying put in America’s Finest City. This year, the Chargers added a burgeoning phenom wide receiver to its offense, Travis Benjamin, and welcomed back solid veteran cornerback in Brandon Flowers to pillar its young defense. Both players proudly hail from the Miami area and landed in San Diego by way of the midwest; Benjamin spent four years in Cleveland, while Flowers spent his first six seasons with the Chiefs. I got a chance to catch up with Travis Benjamin and Brandon Flowers to find out about the transition to San Diego from their former teams, how they gear up for training camp, and how the Golden State measures up to the Sunshine State.

When I asked Chargers’ star wide receiver Stevie Johnson about newcomer Travis Benjamin, all I got in response was, "Trav is fast." But in regards to a prodigious speedster, what else needs to be said? Benjamin played four years in Cleveland with an ever shaky rotation of quarterbacks—not the ideal situation for a wide receiver. He flew under the radar until some off-the-field troubles sidelined Browns starting wide receiver Josh Gordon. Benjamin took the opportunity and literally ran with it. His successful breakout season was rewarded by the Chargers when he signed a four-year, $24 million contract this offseason.

With his move to San Diego, Benjamin links up with 5-time pro-bowl quarterback Philip Rivers, who has been the Chargers’ keystone for well over a decade. Since landing in San Diego, it’s been all sparks and lightening between the ingenious QB and his rocket-fast new target. Benjamin says that he was looking for a team with a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback, and that’s what motivated his move to San Diego. Upon hearing that Rivers recently told a San Diego radio show that Benjamin was faster than anybody he had ever thrown a football to, the wide receiver searched for words before saying, "[For] as long as he’s been playing, 12-plus years, and all those seasons he’s had... and right off the bat? That kind of put butterflies in my stomach."

Butterflies can describe what a lot of Chargers fans have felt since the announcement that the Rams are moving to L.A. and the Bolts are staying put. Over the last year, talks between the city of San Diego, the Chargers organization and the fans about the future of local football were at a fever pitch. The threat of a new stadium in L.A. loomed, and an air of uncertainty surrounded the organization, but this never fazed Benjamin. "The question had been thrown around a little before I came, but... talking to a couple of the guys, they told me that San Diego is the place to be and the place they want to play... It was a lock for me," says Benjamin.

While he hasn’t been a Charger for long, Benjamin has quickly learned the ropes of his new city. Like a true San Diegan, he says he’s "become a fish taco guy now" and has grown accustomed to waiting out the long breakfast lines at Snooze in Del Mar. At the break of mini-camp, Benjamin headed to his hometown of Miami to spend time with his family before returning to San Diego for training camp, which coincidentally is what teammate cornerback Brandon Flowers plans to do in nearby Delray Beach, Florida.

Training camp seems to come all too soon for every NFL player with the rare exception of Brandon Flowers. Entering

his ninth season in the NFL, Flowers has a unique perspective not shared with a large chunk of the locker room: memories of training camp before the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which set the current health and safety standards for the players.

Most players dread the long days of practice, limited sleep and the intense position battles that ensue when training camp rolls around, but for Flowers, checking in for training camp in July is old hat. "When I first came into the NFL, practice was a lot harder," Flowers says. "Practice two times a day in full pads, tackling to the whistle... But with this new CBA, they got soft on us... All training camps are the same. You’re going to have your body aches, you’re not going to have a lot of sleep. It’s about preparing yourself mentally, more than anything."

Flowers oozes the kind of confidence you only earn with seniority. "I approach it with the right mindset. I have a good group of guys [I’ll] be going through this with," Flowers laughs.

"I’m like the oldest guy in there. You know, those young guys keep me laughing. We have a good relationship, have a good time, so I don’t dread it at all. I actually look forward to coming back and being in the room with these guys. We have fun; literally every day, we have fun." Proof that Flowers has learned a few tricks of the trade along the way, he plans to bring his hyperbaric chamber and iPad queue of movies to camp this year to help him recover from the intense schedule––confirmation that it’s not all fun and games, even for the tenured vets.

One thing that comes along with playing nine years in the NFL is injury. Flowers suffered a season-ending knee injury during the final weeks of the 2015 season, which marked the end of his second season as a Charger. Flowers spent much of his offseason in his hometown of Delray Beach with a laser focus on being prepared for the upcoming season, and his preparation was all-pro. Flowers worked with Miami-based celebrity trainer David Alexander, clocked time in a hyperbaric chamber and followed a vegan diet. Flowers’s holistic approach to conditioning makes San Diego an ideal landing spot with its health and wellness vibe, but Flowers has yet to uncover a vegan restaurant that compares to the ones he loves in his hometown of Delray. "I know this is my third year here, but I’m still feeling the city out because when I’m here, it’s more work," he laughs. "I don’t have a lot of downtime. When I do have time I go searching, but I haven’t found a [vegan] place yet."

When Flowers does have time off, he likes to explore the city with his one-year-old daughter. "She really enjoys Sea World... We took her to the zoo. She loves seeing the animals; she’s very outdoorsy," Flowers says. As a new dad, he appreciates just how kid-friendly San Diego is. "We take her to La Jolla to seal [cove]. We took her on a little boat ride in the harbor and saw seals there, so as long as animals are around, she’s pretty much a happy camper. As long as she’s happy, we’re happy."

Whether they’re exploring the San Diego sights, commanding on the football field or prepping for the upcoming season, Travis Benjamin and Brandon Flowers both have one thing in common: determination. With strong work ethics, natural talent and a desire to dominate this season, Benjamin and Flowers may just usher in a winning season for the Chargers.