LA Chargers: Melvin Ingram or Hunter Henry, who should be re-signed?
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers are going to have a lot of decisions to make after the 2020 season.
The 2020 season has not gone anywhere close to how we expected it for the LA Chargers. Three months ago we were all expecting Tyrod Taylor to be the quarterback until at least the bye and he only started one game for the Chargers.
Instead, rookie phenomenon Justin Herbert has taken over and has pushed the limits of what it means to be a rookie.
We all expected the Chargers, even with Taylor, to be a solid team this season. I think it is safe to say that nobody reasonably expected a deep run, but an 8-8 record seemed like a fair bar that the team could achieve and overcome.
They are 2-7 with their only two wins being against the 2-6-1 Cincinnati Bengals and 1-8 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Personally, I also expected there to be a narrative surrounding Hunter Henry, who is playing in a contract year on a franchise tag. This had all the makings of being a breakout year for Henry, but thus far, it has been far from that.
He is not the only player on a contract year that has not been that great. Melvin Ingram (rightfully) sat out of practices at the beginning of camp until the Bolts guaranteed his 2020 salary. Ingram got his desire but he has not really been that good this season, either.
Some fans want to see Henry return, others want to see Ingram return, some may want to see neither return. The fact of the matter is, though, that the Bolts probably can only afford one of the players.
The LA Chargers currently have $33 million in projected cap space for the 2021 season, per Spotrac, but that only includes 32 players and does not include the 2021 NFL Draft class.
To me, I always viewed this season as being a competition between Henry and Ingram to see who would get another contract offer in LA and who would sign elsewhere. Over halfway through the season, here is the case for both Henry and Ingram to be re-signed, as well as the final verdict.