SAN DIEGO -- Without Melvin Ingram, the Los Angeles Chargers would have had a huge hole at edge rusher, which is one of the reasons the team placed the franchise tag on him, general manager Tom Telesco told reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Thursday.

“It was important to get him back with us,” Telesco said. “We put the franchise tag on him right now, and we will continue to talk with them. We still have time, until July 15, to try and work on a long-term deal.”

The Chargers like the production Ingram has provided, which includes 18.5 sacks in the last two seasons. But Telesco also likes Ingram’s potential for future production. He turns 28 in April.

“For the type of player he is and the position he plays, he’s very important for us,” Telesco said. “Pass rush wins in this league. We have Joey Bosa on one side, so if we don’t have Melvin Ingram, we have a pretty big hole. We like what we’ve seen from Melvin, and he still has room to get better, too.

“One thing about Melvin and what we really like about him is every year during the offseason he worked on a specific part of his game, and each year you came back and saw that in the offseason. And I think we’ll see that moving forward as well.”

The Chargers believe that productive pass-rusher Melvin Ingram has the potential to get even better. AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

By applying the franchise tag to Ingram, the Chargers have about $4 million in cap space for 2017. They can still make some moves before free agency begins next week to create more cap room, and with a new coaching staff in place led by head coach Anthony Lynn, Telesco said the franchise will take as much time as possible to make those decisions.

“We think we’re in a pretty good spot,” Telesco said. “There are always changes to be made. But the one thing is when you have a new head coach, you need every day and every dollar that you have allotted to yourself to make decisions.

“We’ve got some time now, and we’ve got time during the offseason to make some moves if we have to. Cap-wise, we can get done what we need to get done. We’ve got a lot of work still to do between free agency and the draft to get things situated before opening day.”

Telesco also said he’s talked with left tackle King Dunlap, who was arrested two weeks for allegedly violating a protection order in Nashville.

“These are situations that you need to do a lot of work on,” Telesco said. “So we’re still gathering information on that before making a determination of what we need to do.”

Added Lynn: “He’s been a high-character guy for the Chargers over the last four years. I understand he’s dealing with the law right now and we’re going to let that process work itself out. I don’t want to make any judgments on him right now. King’s done an outstanding job and I think he’s going to be OK.”