Los Angeles Chargers: Melvin Ingram contract solidifies fearsome pass rush
The Los Angeles Chargers locked up Melvin Ingram to a massive four-year contract, cementing their pass rush as a weapon for the foreseeable future.
Melvin Ingram being hit with the franchise tag early in the offseason by the Los Angeles Chargers was always done with bigger things in mind. After inconsistency plagued his first two years in the NFL, Ingram has emerged as an elite pass rusher and player on the edge. Thus, the hope was always that the team would be able to work out a long-term contract.
On Sunday, the two sides were able to do just that. The Chargers announced on Sunday afternoon that they'd signed Ingram to a four-year contract. Ian Rapaport of NFL Network followed that up with the terms, reporting that the new deal will be worth up to $66 million and has $42 million guaranteed.
With the July 15 deadline to sign franchise-tagged players, the Chargers obviously didn't want to go down to the wire. Also obvious is how much they value Ingram as a leader and tone-setter for their defense. After all, he's accrued 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons combined, while also being a solid run defender. He's proven to be a monster.
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However, locking down the 28-year old Ingram doesn't just mean that the Chargers have their franchise guy. Yes, that is true. However, this new contract cements the fact that the Bolts will boast one of the NFL's most dangerous pass rushing tandems in the league for the foreseeable future. The other part of that tandem is, of course, Joey Bosa.
When looking at what Bosa and Ingram were able to accomplish a year ago, it's scary to think of what they pair could blossom into together moving forward. Pro Football Focus graded Bosa as the fifth-best edge defender in the league in 2016 (his rookie year). In the spot just below him in sixth was Ingram. Having two pass rushers of that caliber on the same defense is an immense weapon.
Despite the immense injuries that the Chargers suffered a year ago, the sneaky fact was that their defense remained solid, if not quite good. And though Casey Hayward played a big role in that, Ingram and Bosa were the driving force behind it. Their ability to both get after quarterbacks, but also seal the edge against the run creates a suffocating front that leaves opposing offenses reeling.
And now the Chargers have that presence in-house for the foreseeable future. Though the Bolts aren't traditionally a team that people think of as a defense-first squad, this new deal for Ingram puts them well on their way in that direction. And if that approach means relying on Ingram and Bosa, the team should be more than fine.
