Somehow, the Steelers couldn’t find a way to make it work with Melvin Ingram. Count that as another one of their failures this season.
Ingram has been a crucial part of the Chiefs’ defensive turnaround, pressuring quarterbacks and setting the tone. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo recently lauded Ingram’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s playing angry,” Spagnuolo said. “I say that to him all the time. I say, ‘you play angry, and I love it, you’ve got everybody else getting angry too.’”
Ingram was angry during his final days in Pittsburgh, especially after playing just 26% of the snaps against the Seahawks Oct. 17. The former Pro Bowler signed a one-year deal with the Steelers and was never able to break through and become a more regular part of the rotation. Kansas City nabbed him for the low price of a sixth-round pick.
Since then, the Chief have employed the best pass-rush in the NFL. That was evident Sunday in their 48-9 drubbing of the Raiders, where they pressured Derek Carr on 45% of his drop backs. Ingram teamed up with Chris Jones for a sack as well.
Ingram’s presence on the outside has allowed the Chiefs to kick Jones back inside, and the fearsome lineman leads the NFL in pressures since Week 8. Frank Clark has also benefitted from Ingram being around. He’s fifth in the league in pressures over that stretch.
The Steelers’ choice to trade Ingram to the Chiefs was questionable at the time. In addition to being direct competitors with Kansas City, a sixth-round pick is a low return. It speaks volumes the Steelers and Ingram couldn’t find a way to co-exist.
Pittsburgh could’ve used Ingram over the last six weeks, as T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith have battled injuries.
Now, it’s worth noting that Ingram didn’t carry himself with professionalism on his way out. He claimed to be battling a groin injury at the end of October, which doesn’t seem to be a problem for him in KC. As The Fan’s Jeff Hatthorn wrote at the time, Ingram showed himself to be a phony.
But he’s also showed himself to still be a playmaker. It’s a shame the Steelers couldn’t get that production out of him.