NFL another step closer to team(s) relocating to L.A. … but which one(s)?

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The NFL took another step toward placing a team (or two) in the second-biggest market by hearing presentations for possible franchise relocation to Los Angeles.

The 32 teams’ owners heard presentations from three member clubs — the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams — who are battling local stadium issues and considering an L.A. move as soon as the 2016 season. 

“There is not a possibility that’s being taken off the table,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, although it should be pointed out that the league is not considering the possibility of all three teams (and two stadiums) joining the L.A. market. “We’re just looking for the right solution.”

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The Raiders and Chargers are paired up for a stadium project that would drop in Carson, California, and the second presentation came from the solo-flying Rams and owner Stan Kroenke, who would plan to great ground for a stadium in Inglewood.

“I guess you could use the metaphor of [it being] musical chairs,” New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch told a small group of media. “There’s a bit of that going on.”

Asked about the potential awkwardness of one or two teams being left out in the cold as far as L.A. is concerned if relocation doesn’t work out for those clubs, Goodell said: “Those are the circumstances as they are. You take a risk if you file for relocation of whether it’ll be approved.”

No votes were taken on Los Angeles, but this was the only topic discussed at the Tuesday meeting.

“We simply had a discussion,” Goodell said.

Eventually, big topics such as temporary stadium sites and pricy relocation fees will come into sharper focus. But what’s becoming clear — even if Goodell wouldn’t bite on the subject when asked — is that there’s a better chance of a team, or teams, ending up in L.A. in 2016 than not.

Tisch put those odds at “better than 50-50.”

But time is ticking quickly to decide who ends up where. Traditionally, the window for teams to apply for relocation is open from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15. But Goodell said that timeline could be shortened or moved up, and longtime San Francisco 49ers executive Carmen Policy — who is leading the Carson bid on behalf of the Chargers and Raiders — predicted that it would happen “prior to the Super Bowl,” which will be played in Santa Clara on Feb. 7, 2016.

Kroenke presented the Rams first, followed by Policy on behalf of the Chargers and Raiders. Both groups were said to have presented themselves well.

“The presentation that was made today by the Raiders-Chargers group was really, really well done, as was Stan’s presentation,” Tisch said.

The Chargers-Raiders pairing was viewed as an odd one initially, but these unlikely allies have united under Policy’s watch, and he says he’s thrilled with the results to this point.

“We were able to cover everything we thought was important, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more attentive audience,” Policy said. “We felt our presentation went exactly the way we hoped it would go.

“What [the other owners] thinking, I can’t tell you.”

In a brief statement while leaving the meeting, Raiders owner Mark Davis said, “As I’ve said all along, Oakland is still the place that we [have] wanted to be, and we’ll just see what happens.”

Policy said he’s hoping to make this California dream come true with a stadium that would be shovel-ready as soon as the project is green-lit, and the new stadium could be ready for the 2019 season.

The league has survived without a team in L.A. since both the Rams and Raiders left the city following the 1994 season, but it clearly is trying to get back. Although the NFL is not guaranteed to be there by the 2016 season, all signs point toward a strong likelihood — and three eager teams going past the leverage stage with their local markets.

We should know sometime in the next four or five months who the most serious candidates are as the process continues. Policy said the Chargers-Raiders pairing, even with NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman noting that the Chargers have made a “significant amount of progress” in keeping the team in San Diego, could be the perfect duo to cure the league’s L.A. blues. 

“The Carson situation solves the NFL’s dilemma in California,” Policy said. “It makes California healthy. … It works.”

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm