Former Eagles' offensive lineman Jon Runyan plans to run for Congress in South Jersey next year after finishing this football season with the San Diego Chargers.

Runyan, a Mount Laurel resident who signed with the Chargers Tuesday, said he will run as a Republican in the 3rd Congressional district.

Runyan, who has not been active in public politics, may face a challenge in a district where two Republican-heavy counties have battled for supremacy.

"Win or lose, these will be my final games as an NFL player," Runyan said in a statement released Tuesday night by Chris Russell, a prominent Burlington County Republican campaign advisor. "After the season is over, I plan to officially retire from football and pursue a campaign for the United States Congress."

Runyan, who turns 36 Friday, will be seeking to represent a district that includes Cherry Hill and most of Burlington and Ocean counties, stretching from the Delaware River to the Jersey Shore. Republicans held the seat for decades before U.S. Rep. John Adler won it last year with the help of a Democratic surge led by President Obama.

"I look forward to the end of my career on the field, and a spirited campaign against Congressman Adler in 2010," Runyan said in the statement.

Adler was with his family for the holiday and unavailable for an interview today, according to a spokeswoman.

"Congressman Adler is going to continue to fight for middle-class families and a more accountable and efficient government. He is not thinking about partisan politics or next year's election," Jill Greco, his chief-of-staff, said in a statement.

National Republicans have targeted Adler from his first weeks in office, while Democrats have been girding for a fight to hang on to the historically Republican district.

Republicans in Runyan's home county, Burlington, were already eager to play up the potential contrasts between the massive lineman who grew up in Flint, Mich., and Adler, a Cherry Hill resident who went to school in Haddonfield, graduated from Harvard Law and spent 16 years in the state Legislature before moving to Congress in 2008.

"People are tired of career politicians, which Congressman Adler certainly is, and they're looking for fresh faces," Russell said.

With a 13-year National Football League career, it also seems Runyan would be in a position to fund much of his own campaign in an expensive media market.

Runyan got a split reaction from the Republican leaders in Burlington and Ocean counties, where support is crucial for GOP candidates..

"I support him 100 percent," said Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton. "He's my first choice for Congress."

Russell said Runyan would be "a low tax, small-government conservative" who would focus on the economy and jobs.

"He was looking for the next phase in his life where he could make a difference," Russell said, adding that Runyan "is committed to the race."

But Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore said there are others also interested in the seat, and all will be vetted.

"He says he's going to run for Congress and that's certainly his prerogative, but that doesn't mean he's going to get the nomination," Gilmore said. "Nobody should be afraid to take our time and pick the best candidate possible. If that turns out to be Jon Runyan, great. But it may not turn out to be Jon Runyan."

In 2008 a bitter Republican primary between candidates from Burlington and Ocean left the winner, Medford's Chris Myers, bruised before the general election contest with Adler. Burlington's James Saxton had held the seat for 24 years, and Ocean Republicans have been eager to see someone from their turf move to Congress.

Gilmore said he recently met with Runyan for 15 minutes, but knows little about him other than his football career, which included playing at the University of Michigan. He was with the Eagles from 2000 to 2008.

"He told me football was his first love," Gilmore said, adding that he told Runyan he can't play and run for office. "I would have concerns, in all honesty, that if he plays for San Diego and San Diego likes him and offers him a contract for next year, that he plays football again next year."

Runyan's contract this year means he could be playing until Feb. 7, the date of the Super Bowl, at the latest.

Burlington County voting records show Runyan registered as a Republican on Nov. 10, one day before word leaked out that the county's GOP leaders were encouraging him to run.

He registered to vote in Burlington in 2000, the same year he began playing with the Eagles.