LA Chargers: How Joey Bosa’s extension impacts other key free agents next season

LA Chargers free agent two: Melvin Ingram

Melvin Ingram may be a bit of a different conversation when it comes to getting his money this upcoming offseason. While it may be true he is extremely important and an excellent running mate alongside Bosa on the defensive line, Melvin Ingram may not be worth a long term contract with younger talent coming up throughout the roster at a cheaper price.

Ingram will be 32 years old going into next offseason, and the likelihood that he remains a very high-level player for a long time after that is slim. While we all hope that isn’t the case, football is a very physical game and father time is still undefeated.

Uchenna Nwosu can be a prime candidate to replace Melvin Ingram after next season. Nwosu will only be 24 going into next offseason, and will still be on the final season of his rookie deal. Even then, Nwosu likely will not have the status like a player of Ingram’s caliber, and will likely come at a very big discount.

Paying Joey Bosa over $30 million a year and then paying Melvin Ingram $20 million or more will not make much sense over the long term. If Ingram was willing to play on year to year contracts, it could be something the team remains interested in to try and get Ingram’s remaining high-level years out of him.

Melvin Ingram will be a crucial part of the Chargers in 2020, however it may be Nwosu’s spot to have come 2021. The best case scenario is Melvin gets re-signed for two years at $18-21 million and hopefully helps push this team to their goal of a Super Bowl title.