San Diego Chargers pass rusher Melvin Ingram suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on Tuesday, according to the team's official Twitter account. Ingram suffered the injury during organized team activities, which at this stage in the offseason are designated as "no contact" workouts.
Melvin Ingram injury: Chargers pass rusher tears ACL
San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram tore his ACL in organized team activities on Tuesday, the team confirmed.
Given the fact that it’s a torn ACL, the Chargers will not have Ingram back for most, if not all of the 2013-14 season. That’s a big blow to San Diego, given that the team was expecting Ingram to take the next step in his development and be the team’s primary pass rusher next season.
As you can see over at Bolts From The Blue, losing Ingram is a big deal:
Your updated depth chart should have Larry English and Jarret Johnson as the starting Outside Linebackers for the 2013 San Diego Chargers. That duo won't strike fear into the heart of an opposing Quarterback, and the team doesn't have much in the way of cap space to sign John Abraham or Dwight Freeney.
Last season, the Chargers had some other options in the pass rushing department in Shaun Phillips and Antwan Barnes. Both players departed in free agency, and the Chargers pinned all of their hopes on Ingram to develop in his second year. It only made sense, given that they invested heavily in Ingram, taking him with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Dwight Freeney is essentially the best pass rusher still on the market. He's entering his 12th year in the NFL and has been a productive pass rusher for much of his career. He's far from having his best days, and has struggled in the 3-4 defense in recent years when the Indianapolis Colts made the switch, but he's still productive.
He had five sacks in 2012, and 8.5 sacks in 2011. The previous three years, he had double digit sacks. There’s no rumors linking him to the Chargers at this point, but he is essentially the only confidence-inspiring pass rusher remaining on the market.
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