When it comes to making life a living hell for quarterbacks, the Detroit Lions did not exactly light the world on fire in 2020 as they ranked No. 26 in the NFL with just 24 sacks.
This is something that Lions’ new general manager Brad Holmes will have to address during the coming offseason if the team wants to make big strides in 2021.
One player the Lions could potentially go after in free agency is 3-time Pro Bowl EDGE Melvin Ingram III and that is exactly what Pro Football Focus predicts will happen.
From Pro Football Focus:
Ingram’s second contract went a lot better than his first in terms of his level of play. Once seen as a first-round disappointment, Ingram blossomed into an extremely effective NFL pass-rusher only enhanced by the arrival of Joey Bosa to the Chargers‘ defensive front.
Ingram racked up three straight seasons with 70 or more total pressures before injury broke that streak, and 2020 featured the best PFF pass-rushing grade he has posted since 2017, even if the sacks never materialized.
Ingram is a productive pass-rusher, but he was limited to just 361 snaps this season. And at this point in his career, he isn’t going to be the primary source of pass rush for anything other than a bad pass-rushing football team. Teams that already have that primary stud up front could dramatically improve their rush with the addition of Ingram as a second threat, however.
Contract Analysis: Ingram briefly held out of training camp before the season, presumably looking for an extension of some kind. But after making Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, the Chargers were only willing to guarantee Ingram’s 2020 salary and not add any years onto his deal. Injuries kept him out of the Chargers’ final six games, and he appeared in just seven games total in 2020.
Prediction: Lions sign Ingram for two years, $20M ($10M APY): $16M total guaranteed, $14M fully guaranteed at signing.
Ingram, who will be 32 by the time the 2021 season begins, was originally selected by the Chargers with the No. 18 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team in 2017, 2018, and 2019 after racking up 24.5 sacks during that time. 2020 was different though as Ingram did not have a single sack in seven games.
Nation, would you like to see the Lions bring in Ingram on a 2-year, $20 million contract?
Personally, I will pass and look for youth.
When someone says “the following article or excerpt or whatever it is from PFF is telling you that the Lions are going to sign so and so..” and then reveals a paragraph that doesn’t mention the Lions, I have to say to myself, “who wrote this? A child? A psychopath??” Not to mention starting a rumor like this while there is nobody even in place in the Lions staff that is capable of making such a signing. No coach, no G.M. I don’t get it. Is this article the product of a social bot?
Since when is Mike Tirico on meth? He will not shut up. Just shut up dude. What happened to Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth?