LA Chargers: Five most experienced players on the Chargers roster
By Jason Reed
There are not many super experienced players on the LA Chargers roster.
The LA Chargers lost their most experienced player in the offseason in Philip Rivers as the team is turning to a new era at the quarterback position with Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert. Without Rivers, the rest of the existing Chargers roster lacked a “super experienced” player.
The front office did bring in some really experienced players in free agency but overall, compared to the entirety of the league, the Chargers are a relatively young team.
Not a single member of the Chargers roster is in the top 50 in terms of games started in the NFL. The most experienced Charger (which we will get to in this article) ranks 58th among active players in games started.
It is not necessarily a bad thing to not have many experienced veterans on the team, but we still wanted to highlight those that do bring experience to the table. Here are the five-most experienced players on the LA Chargers roster in order of games started.
LA Chargers’ most experienced players: 5. Melvin Ingram, 89 games started
Melvin Ingram is one of two players on this list that was on the LA Chargers last season and he is the only one that has spent his entire career with the Bolts. Keenan Allen game in a close sixth with 82 games started, but it is Ingram that gets the nod.
Ingram is in the last year of his contract and with another solid year he will cement himself as one of the best pass-rushers, if he isn’t already, in team history.
Despite Ingram’s being a three-time consecutive Pro Bowler in the last three years, his overall career with the Chargers has not always been dominant. The first-round pick didn’t really start becoming a force on defense until his fourth season in the league in 2015.
Ingram is 31 years old and he probably has another 3-4 years after the 2020 season in the league, but it is unclear if he will stay with the Bolts on a discount or sign for decent money elsewhere.
Regardless, right now he is the fifth-most experienced player on the LA Chargers roster but still only ranks 180th in total games started in the NFL.