The Chiefs Should Start Thinking About Plans for Melvin Ingram Beyond 2021
For the first month-plus of the 2021 season, the Kansas City Chiefs' defense was one of the worst units in the NFL. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. Communication was lackluster, health was spotty and overall production was extremely poor. No matter how you sliced it, the Chiefs were a complete and utter liability on that side of the ball.
Things got better after players like Willie Gay Jr. and Frank Clark got healthy, as well as when defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo made the switch from Daniel Sorensen to Juan Thornhill at safety. It's reasonable to attribute a great deal of the success in the defense's turnaround to factors like those. There's another one that needs to be talked about too, though.
The addition of defensive end Melvin Ingram.
In early November, the Chiefs acquired Ingram via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers. At the time, many viewed the move as two teams swapping a veteran pass-rusher with a limited ceiling in exchange for a sixth-round pick. It didn't appear to be a splash trade at the time. With that said, the Chiefs' undefeated record and overall defensive improvement since Ingram arrived tells a different story.
In five games as a member of the Chiefs, Ingram has 14 pressures (he had 18 in nine games with the Steelers), four run stops and a pair of sacks to boot. Not only is he doing his job well, but he's allowing others like Clark and Chris Jones to do theirs at a high level as well. Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report joined me on Wednesday's Roughing the Kicker podcast to talk about whether Ingram's play this season has warranted a possible longer-term look from the Chiefs.
As far as contracts go, let's take a look at how Ingram has been compensated thus far in the NFL in terms of basic contract value — not considering adjustments. For his first four seasons, he made $8.4 million with the Los Angeles Chargers. His fifth-year option was then exercised, slated to pay him roughly $7.8M in 2017. In the same year, he agreed to a four-year, $66M extension. Ahead of the 2021 season, he signed a $4M deal for one year with the Steelers.
At this point in his career, as a player who will be 33 years old when the 2022 season begins, that same $4M in average annual value (AAV) is probably spot-on for Ingram's market moving forward. If not, it's pretty close to it. It's highly unlikely that he gets anything more than a two-year offer this coming offseason, and it's quite possible that he signs with another team for just one year. Edge rushers don't age particularly well unless they have an elite trait to prop them up with. Ingram is a quality presence, but he's far from elite in any specific area.
Ingram's contributions are still extremely valuable, though. For a Chiefs team that has a tough decision to make regarding Clark at the beginning of the 2022 offseason, keeping Ingram around as insurance might be worthwhile. He has an injury history and is an aging player at a premium position, so that aforementioned price tag is as high as the team should be willing to go for his services. If he has any interest in returning to Kansas City post-2021, that would present an interesting dilemma to the franchise.
Do the Chiefs cut ties with Clark, let Ingram walk, then go after a pass rusher in free agency? Do they do the same two initial moves, then use their first-round pick on a defensive end? Do they keep one of Clark or Ingram, then make another move elsewhere? How general manager Brett Veach chooses to handle that position this offseason will be interesting. Ingram didn't project to factor into the long-term picture with the Chiefs when he was traded but after some very solid play, it's worth it for them to at least do their due diligence in terms of seeing what route they want to take with him once this season is over.
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