When it comes to Melvin Ingram and the 2022 offseason, two things are true: 1.) Ingram deserves to take all the time he wants to make a decision, and 2.) Ingram’s patience is an ill-timed wrinkle for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ingram is a free-agent pass rusher once again this offseason after hitting the open market last year for the first time in his solid NFL career. After eight seasons with the San Diego-turned-Los Angeles Chargers, Ingram found himself staring at a restart last spring, and after flirting with a potential signing with the Chiefs in late March, Ingram decided to wait until July until he officially landed with a new team.
Any team interested in Ingram this offseason should once again expect the same patient approach in ’22, and that’s a problem for the Chiefs. It’s just not Ingram’s problem.
Defensive end Melvin Ingram is expected to be patient with his offseason approach, which is something the Chiefs cannot afford to wait on.
For the Chiefs this offseason, the defensive line is potentially ready to receive the same extreme treatment as the offensive line did last spring. During that renovation, the entire unit was ripped down the studs and rebuilt. If that happens for the Chiefs again, and it should (or something close to it), then they’re going to need to know more than what Ingram will likely want to tell them early on.
Again that’s not Ingram’s worry, but it does mean the Chiefs might want to move on from Ingram or consider him a luxury this offseason, despite what he provided last year.
Think of this: if the Chiefs get rid of Frank Clark this offseason, as many expect them to do, then it means the only experienced defensive ends on the entire roster are Joshua Kaindoh and Mike Danna. To clarify: we’re not saying they are the only rotational players. We are saying that’s all that’s in the cupboard. That’s it. Danna and Kaindoh would be the de facto starters without anyone else coming in to replace them. That’s an unrealistic scenario, but it’s a startling statement about the lack of options already in-house.
Basically, the Chiefs were already in need of one starter plus some rotational help before getting rid of Clark. Without Big Frank, the team now needs two new edge rushers to go with Danna and Kaindoh, although it’s technically possible that some futures signing like Austin Edwards or Jonathan Woodard comes up big for them in training camp. Do you count on that? Absolutely not.
Even as the Chiefs are likely to draft some help and sign (or trade for) another starter, having a veteran like Ingram around would go a long way toward settling the position for ’22. The problem here—again, not Ingram’s—is that the Chiefs might not know the position is settled until mid-summer once again.
No one can blame a vet like Ingram for waiting until OTAs and other training activities are done for the spring. He’s been there. He’s done that. Ingram knows what it takes to get ready for an NFL season and remain effective for what can be a long, grueling endeavor ahead. The learning curve has leveled out. He’s more than capable of stepping in when he wants without being pressured by his employer.
But the Chiefs might not want to wait that long—unless, that is, they have an understanding already worked out. If Ingram is holding out for multiple offers, Veach might want to already know what he’s working with well before training camp is scheduled to get started. Can you imagine heading into training camp last summer with only Lucas Niang and Mike Remmers around, hoping he will still make a move for an Orlando Brown? Me either.
Ingram is going to be paid by someone with so much still left in the tank. The Chiefs have also stated they would love to stay on his radar (and vice versa) given how well he played for them in a half-season. But whether or not it can work out will depend on how much the Chiefs can tolerate Ingram’s patient approach.