Where will KC Chiefs turn after losing out on Melvin Ingram?
By Matt Conner
Now that Melvin Ingram has once again closed the door on the Kansas City Chiefs, where will they turn for further DE help?
For the last few months, there has been a working assumption among Kansas City Chiefs fans that one spot on the offseason roster was essentially reserved for Melvin Ingram. No, it wasn’t official. Yes, it might take some time. Technically, it wasn’t a done deal. But those were just sayings. In the end, the Chiefs and Ingram were widely expected to make it work for the ’22 season.
On Sunday, those assumptions fell in concert to create a deafening thud. By Monday, some members of Chiefs Kingdom are likely still in shock. While it’s not the most surprising move of the offseason—since that honor belongs to arrowheadaddict.com tyreek—it is still hard to believe simply for how widely-assumed that Ingram would sign before training camp.
The Miami Dolphins are now Ingram’s employer and it’s the second such time that the pass rusher has chosen another team over the Chiefs.
At this stage, the Chiefs’ situation at defensive end looks pretty dire. George Karlaftis should be a nice long-term addition as a first-round pick, but he’s got a learning curve ahead of him. Frank Clark is back in a starting role, and perhaps he’ll be motivated in what is unofficially a contract year, but reliability has been a problem during the regular season. Behind those two are unknown quantities or role players, which leaves a void for a productive pass rusher to join the rotation.
Where do the Chiefs turn now that Ingram has spurned their advances? Let’s look.