Melvin Ingram leaves Kansas City without a contract from Chiefs

While hopes were high that the Kansas City Chiefs might be able to come away with a defensive addition this week in free agency, the team hosted two visits over consecutive days and came away without a contract in both instances. The latest bit of news comes from NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, who said pass rusher Melvin Ingram came and went from Arrowhead without a deal in hand.

Ingram’s lack of a contract offer mirrors the visit of cornerback K’Waun Williams on Tuesday, and the slot corner landed a deal with the San Francisco 49ers the following day. It’s still possible the Chiefs and Ingram find a way to make it work but given the fact that Ingram left K.C. already makes that an unlikely move. Instead, Ingram is likely going to move on to the next suitor and the Chiefs could turn their attention to another defensive end.

The Chiefs were quite familiar with Ingram’s game after playing against him on15 different occasions over the last several seasons in their rivalry with the L.A. Chargers. Clearly there was an impasse between both parties, but it’s impossible to tell what exactly transpired at this point. Perhaps there were health concerns about Ingram’s knee, or maybe one side is playing a bit of financial hardball.

Melvin Ingram’s visit with the Chiefs wrapped without a deal.

Without Ingram, the Chiefs are looking at Frank Clark, Taco Charlton, Michael Danna, Tim Ward, and Demone Harris as edge players on the roster heading into the 2021 NFL season. Veteran pass rushers still remaining in free agency include two former Chiefs in Alex Okafor and Tanoh Kpassagnon, not to mention bigger names in their twilight like Everyone Griffin, Adrian Clayborn, Justin Houston, Ryan Kerrigan, and Jadeveon Clowney.

Ingram, who turns 32 years old next month, is coming off a injury-plagued season due to a knee injury that required two separate stints on injured reserve. He had 10 tackles, 2 pass deflections and 0 sacks in parts of 7 games for L.A.