Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram is sitting out of practice in hopes of getting a new deal, sources tell Daniel Popper of The Athletic. As it stands, Ingram has one year to go on his four-year, $66MM deal. 
[RELATED: Chargers Sign Bosa To Five-Year, $135MM Deal]
There’s no word on when Ingram will suit up, or how long he might be willing to hold his position. At the age of 31, Ingram might be looking for a new long-term deal to give him security for the remainder of his career. He might also be seeking some short-term insurance. Ingram is slated to earn $14MM in base salary this year, but it’s completely non-guaranteed. Ingram’s agent didn’t offer much clarity when contacted by Popper, though he did deny that Ingram is sitting out in search of guaranteed cash.
Teams have been reluctant to commit big bucks to players in the midst of the pandemic, but that didn’t stop the Bolts from handing Joey Bosa a five-year, $135MM re-up in late July. The COVID-19 excuse likely won’t fly with Ingram, who is still at the team facility but abstaining from on-field activity. Because this isn’t a full-on holdout, Ingram will not be subject to the usual $50K in daily fines.
“Melvin Ingram is in meetings, he’s in walkthroughs, he’s at everything, individual,” head coach Anthony Lynn said this week. “What he does on the practice field, we’ll see later. But like I said earlier, that’s kind of company business, and I’m just going to leave it at that because I don’t have to talk about it right now. I got a lot of other things that I got to get done. I don’t really want to spend a lot of time talking about that.”
Last year, Ingram notched seven sacks and 48 tackles in 13 games. For his career, he has 49 sacks across eight seasons, all with the Chargers.
I hope he wants less money, cause 7 sacks a season isn’t worth 14 mill this next year. I’d rather give Nwosu a shot then pay Melvin more money.
I’m guessing this is more about securing guaranteed money. As you pointed out, his current annual value figure is relatively congruent with his talent level. However, in such an unstable environment, it’s in his best interest to pocket some cash up front
I’m not in favor of holding out but with the incredible amount of risk this year presents, I don’t blame him not wanting to practice with no guarantees.
Stop me if you heard this one before, the Chargers, an agent and a Melvin walk into a contract negotiation….
I think the punchline has something to do with Melvin losing millions of dollars
It would be nice to keep Ingram around, he’s a lifetime Charger, still plays well and can mentor the younger guys on defense. However I’d rather see them lock up Keenan Allen, Desmond King, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry first.
Yo Melvin. U see what other Melvin got? Hold out is bullshi$. Honor your contract!
‘Teams have been reluctant to commit big bucks to players in the midst of the pandemic…’
I hate to keep harping on this, but league are you following? Bridgewater, Brady, Fowler, Bradberry, Littleton, Rivers, plus many more got plenty of dough.
Add in there’s a new bar set for QB’s TE’s, & RB’s this offseason. I mean you covered all of the contracts, yet still say its stagnant. I don’t get it.