The San Diego Chargers, scrambling to fill a need at defensive tackle, has reached a contract agreement with unrestricted free agent Jason Fisk.

	Fisk

Fisk will sign a five-year contract worth $12.5 million, a deal that ends his productive three-year stint with the Tennessee Titans.

The deal also concluded a frenetic 12-hour period Fisk described as "the craziest day of my life."

The seven-year veteran was en route to San Francisco to visit with the 49ers when the Titans, who were attempting to re-sign him, phoned agent Josh Wright and imposed a deadline on their offer. Wright then called the 49ers to see if they would be competitive with the Tennessee offer, and San Francisco subsequently dropped out of the bidding. At about that time, San Diego realized that defenisve tackle John Parrella would sign with the Oakland Raiders and not return to the Chargers. San Diego then called Wright to discuss Fisk's situation. Wright says a wild series of phone calls ensued, culminating with his client making his decision while talking with the agent on an Air Phone.

"The upshot is that, despite all the craziness, we got a good deal for our client, one that doesn't have a lot of 'funny money' in it," Wright said.

The contract guarantees Fisk $5 million in the first two years and, since the base salaries never exceed $3 million in any season, he is less likely to be released down the road for cap reasons.

Fisk, 29, is a hard-nosed interior defender who always seems to play big in the big games. The former Stanford star began his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings as a seventh-round pick in the 1995 draft. He moved to the Titans in 1999 as an unrestricted free agent.

He has played in 103 games and started 63 of them, including all 16 in 2001. He has 205 tackles, 13 sacks, six forced fumbles, two recoveries, three interceptions and six pass deflections.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.