NFL heading back to LA in next 12-24 months?

The Los Angeles Raiders and Rams both ran out of LA in 1995, returning to be the Oakland Raiders and becoming the St. Louis Rams. Since then, the second largest television market in the United States has been without an NFL franchise. That nearly 20-year drought could soon end, according to a Pro Football Talk report.

The report indicates that the NFL will have one, or possible two, teams back in LA in the next 12-24 months. The league expects at least one team to announce they will be heading to either the Rose Bowl or the Los Angeles Coliseum to begin play in either the 2015 or 2016 season. A new stadium would then be constructed at one of several potential sites.

According to PFT, the number of potential teams to move to LA has been narrowed to three, with all of them having history in LA. The Raiders, whose lease at O.co Coliseum ends after this season, and Rams, who can leave the Edward Jones Dome without penalty, both could head back to LA. The San Diego Chargers are also an option. The Chargers, who would have to pay a penalty to escape their Qualcomm Stadium lease, played their initial AFL season in 1960 in LA before moving to San Diego.

All three teams are looking for new stadium deals with their current cities, so a move to LA could be leverage to try to workout a long term solution at their current locations. Though, with the lack of progress recently from any of the sites, and the league's obvious desire to tap back into the LA market, moving one of those teams could solve an issue for the league.