Melvin Ingram chooses Dolphins over KC Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost out on free agent pass rusher Melvin Ingram after the Miami Dolphins signed him on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs found on Sunday that the sweepstakes for pass rusher Melvin Ingram were over and that it ended, once again, with another team signing him in free agency. This year, the Miami Dolphins convinced Ingram to sign, per NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, over the Chiefs.

The Chiefs chased Ingram last spring in the hopes of signing him and had him on a free-agent visit to Arrowhead, but he left without a contract agreement. From there, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up signing him in July before training camp.

The Chiefs ended up trading a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft before the NFL’s trade deadline to the Steelers to get a half-season out of Ingram. Following the season, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach stated he was interested in bringing back Ingram, and he recently placed a UFA tender on Ingram to provide a compensatory pick in case he decided to sign elsewhere. It also gave the Chiefs the sole right to negotiate with him only if Ingram couldn’t reach a deal before training camp with someone else.

Ingram’s best days are behind him after eight years with the L.A. Chargers, but he provided a nice pass-rushing spark in the season’s second half for the Chiefs last year and the lack of reliable experience at defensive end on the current roster made it obvious why Veach wanted him back.

As for the Dolphins, Ingram will provide a nice presence on a defense that also has former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips, Emmanuel Ogbah, Christian Wilkins, and Raekwon Davis, among others.