- Alex Marvez of NFL.com tweets that Chargers linebacker Nick Dzubnar is completely healed from the ACL tear that prematurely ended his 2016 season. Dzubnar has primarily served as a special teams contributor during his first two years in the league, but he has performed very well in that role.
- The four-year deal for Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram is “news you should take note of,” said Miller. The organization now has the former first-rounder and Joey Bosa locked up for several years, creating quite the formidable (and youthful) defensive front.
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Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, set to enter his age-35 season and his 14th in the NFL, doesn’t see retirement on the horizon. “I don’t want to hang on at the end and just be a guy that’s hanging on,” Rivers told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “But if I still feel like I can help a team and I enjoy it the way I do and more importantly, if the team feels that I can help them. … I don’t see myself shutting it down any time real soon.” Rivers, who still has three years remaining on his contract, posted the fifth 30-touchdown and eighth 4,000-yard campaign of his career last season, though he also tossed a personal-worst 21 interceptions as a member of an injury-plagued, five-win team.
King Dunlap is calling it a career. The former Chargers offensive lineman will retire instead of pursuing an NFL gig in 2017, according to his agents (on Twitter). 
Dunlap was released by the Chargers back in March and even though he is retiring today, he did have opportunities to play elsewhere, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The Broncos were said to have some level of interest in Dunlap following his release, but we haven’t heard his name much in the last three months. That’s a sign that Dunlap has been thinking about hanging ’em up for a while now.
Dunlap, an Auburn product, entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2008. After going No. 230 overall, he made several teams regret passing on him as he became a quality lineman for Philly. In his final year with the Eagles, Dunlap made 12 starts and parlayed that promotion into a free agent contract with San Diego.
In four years with the Chargers, Dunlap started in all 46 of his appearances. However, Pro Football Focus rated him as just the No. 53 tackle in the NFL last season in what was his second straight injury-shortened campaign. Dunlap, who turns 32 in September, will now get to heal from all of his nagging injuries as he exits football.
The AFC West produced by far the biggest news this weekend, with the Chargers and Melvin Ingram agreeing to a four-year, $66MM extension that comes with $42MM guaranteed. Here’s more coming out of the Western divisions, as seven of the divisions’ eight teams are scheduled to hold their mandatory minicamps from Tuesday-Thursday.
- The agreement between Ingram and the Chargers is not yet official, but only a Monday trip to Chargers park in San Diego and a pending physical remain before Ingram signs the contract and becomes the third-richest defender in the AFC West, Dan Woike of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. This will clear a path for Ingram to participate in minicamp. Von Miller‘s six-year, $114MM pact and Justin Houston‘s six-year, $101MM agreement surpass Ingram’s. But the gap between Ingram and the division’s fourth-highest-paid defender (per AAV), Eric Berry, is significant. The AFC West figures to soon house four top-tier defensive contracts once the Raiders extend Khalil Mack at a price that could well surpass Miller’s agreement.
The Chargers have joined the list of teams who opted to avoid procrastinating with their franchise-tagged player this summer. Melvin Ingram and the Bolts came to an agreement on a four-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
It’s a $66MM contract for Ingram, per Schefter (on Twitter). He adds that $42MM of Ingram’s deal is guaranteed. The Chargers announced the agreement.
The 28-year-old Ingram played five seasons in San Diego, 2016 on a fifth-year option, before being franchise-tagged earlier this year. The Chargers join the Cardinals and Giants as teams that avoided any midsummer tag edge defender drama with and will proceed with an Ingram/Joey Bosa tandem long-term. Ingram registered eight sacks last season and now has 18.5 over the past two years. He’s forced eight fumbles since the 2015 season, establishing himself as one of the game’s best edge players.
Ingram had not signed his tender and did not show for the Bolts’ OTA sessions, but he will be at minicamp and report as one of the wealthiest defenders in football. In terms of total value, Ingram’s deal places him just behind Olivier Vernon‘s Giants pact worth $85MM among 4-3 defensive ends. On a per-year basis, Ingram’s $16.5MM figure also slots him second behind Vernon at his new position. Ingram’s deal matches Chandler Jones‘ AAV figure, only Jones signed a five-year Cardinals contract. Among edge rushers, only Von Miller, Vernon and Justin Houston presently make more than Ingram.
The Bolts are converting from the 3-4 look they’ve used throughout Ingram’s tenure to a 4-3 base set. The position change clearly did not alter the franchise’s view of Ingram, who now comes in behind only Philip Rivers on the team’s salary hierarchy. Los Angeles entered Sunday with just over $12MM in cap space.
Ingram’s next Pro Bowl will be his first, but the former first-round pick has shined despite an injury-limited start to his career. The former South Carolina defender missed 19 games combined between the 2013 and ’14 seasons, with a torn ACL and hip malady sidelining him during that time, but rebounded to play in 16 during each of the past two years. Pro Football Focus slotted Ingram as its No. 6 edge defender last season. The site rated Bosa as its No. 5 edge player, illustrating what kind of duo the Bolts now have locked up through the 2020 season.
This marks a far less volatile process compared to the franchise’s dealings with its previous franchise player. The Bolts tagged Vincent Jackson in 2011 after he skipped most of the 2010 season due to a contract stalemate. Jackson never signed a long-term Bolts pact, relocating to Tampa Bay in 2012.
This agreement leaves Le’Veon Bell, Trumaine Johnson and Kirk Cousins as unsigned players among the 2017 franchise-tagged contingent. Bell is the only one remaining to have not signed his tender. Ingram joins Pierre-Paul, Jones and Kawann Short as tagged performers who have signed extensions. So, 2017’s July 15 drama will not match that of the past two years.
- The Chargers are still negotiating a long-term deal with Melvin Ingram, who is one of two franchise-tagged players yet to sign their tenders or reach a long-term deal with their respective teams (Le’Veon Bell is the other). However, given that Ingram is likely looking for an Olivier Vernon-esque contract (five years, $85MM), Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com says it is more likely Ingram plays under the tag in 2017. That may end up being the best result for both sides, as Ingram would still collect a nice payday this year ($14.55MM), and he would hit the open market at age 29 next year, as Los Angeles is unlikely to tag him again. The Chargers, meanwhile, would get the benefit of Ingram’s services this season, and there is a good chance new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley can adequately develop one of the team’s young pass rushers to replace Ingram’s production in 2018.
- The Chargers have signed cornerback Ryan Reid, an undrafted free agent from Baylor.
- The Chargers announced Tuesday that first-round receiver Mike Williams will miss the rest of their offseason program with a mild disc herniation in his lower back. Williams has been dealing with the injury since suffering it on the first day of minicamp nearly a month ago, and head coach Anthony Lynn implied in late May that the ex-Clemson star was behind the 8-ball as a result. Now, Williams could be at risk of beginning training camp on the physically unable to perform list, notes Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
- Danny Woodhead signed with the Ravens this offseason, so ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams took a look at current Chargers who could replace the departed running back’s production. The writer points to Branden Oliver and Kenjon Barner as players who could serve as the pass-catching back behind starter Melvin Gordon.
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