At the time, it was clear Melvin Ingram wasn’t going to work out in Pittsburgh. A reserve instead of a starter, Ingram grew frustrated with his lack of a role and was traded mid-way through his first season with the Steelers in 2021. Appearing on the I Am Athlete podcast earlier this week, Ingram offered detail to how he forced his way out.
“I just kept it a buck,” Ingram said on the show’s daily podcast that aired Tuesday. “I stopped going to everything. Call me when you trade me. I don’t even play like that.”
A podcast co-host asked to follow-up on what “everything” meant.
“Practice, games, call me when y’all trade me,” Ingram replied.
Ingram signed a one-year deal shortly before the Steelers’ 2021 training camp opened. In Pittsburgh’s mind, he was brought in as depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, the latter assuming the starting lineup following Bud Dupree’s departure to Tennessee on a big-money contract.
Melvin Ingram had other ideas. A veteran with a proven track record, he wanted playing time over the second-year Highsmith. Ingram initially saw plenty of reps after Watt and Highsmith missed time with injury but once the group got healthy, Ingram’s role shrunk. In a Week 6 win over the Seattle Seahawks, he logged just 16 snaps, 26-percent of the defense’s total.
After the bye, Ingram was a healthy scratch and didn’t dress for the team’s Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns. Presumably because, as he notes, he stopped showing up. Looking back at the team’s final injury report in the lead-up to that game, Ingram was limited Wednesday and Thursday and DNP on Friday. It sounds like Pittsburgh stretched the limit of what “limited” meant and Mike Tomlin acknowledged having a conversation with Ingram about his future.
“I’ve had some conversations with Melvin, but I’ll leave those between he and I,” Tomlin said at the time via the team site. “And the reason he didn’t work today is because of his groin.”
Unless the groin bone is connected to the playing time bone, it doesn’t sound like that was the reason. Ingram told the show he doesn’t recall the team ever fining Ingram for his actions, a move that would’ve been well within their rights.
Melvin Ingram was dealt at the deadline to the Kansas City for a sixth-round pick. Ingram got his wish for additional playing time and including playoffs, started the team’s final nine games. He came up larger in the playoffs, posting two sacks, but missed out on the start of the Chiefs’ dynasty as Kansas City fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.
Despite the situation not working out, Ingram said there’s no hard feelings.
“I still rock with Tomlin though. He knows we’re still good.”
He said he doesn’t point the finger at the organization, choosing to point it “at myself” instead. Perhaps he didn’t evaluate the team’s situation or understand their plan as well as he could have before signing. But it’s obvious what Pittsburgh envisioned his role to be and what Ingram saw weren’t aligned, leading to his quick exit. After 2021, he spent two years in Miami before presumably hanging up his cleats, out of the league in 2024 and turning 36 in April.
