Mike Tomlin stated that he liked working with Melvin Ingram III, who spent correct over three months with the Steelers after spending his first 9 seasons with the Chargers. Nonetheless Ingram’s unwillingness to easily ranking his role at some stage within the Steelers’ defense in the end resulted in Pittsburgh traded him to the Chiefs for a sixth-spherical hang. The deal used to be carried out hours ahead of the league’s commerce closing date.
Almost as we utter after the commerce used to be finalized, Tomlin met the media for his annual Tuesday press conference. As expected, the Steelers’ coach used to be requested about Ingram, who will now look to assist a Kansas Metropolis pass speed that is tied for closing within the NFL in sacks.
“What the group desires is first and foremost,” Tomlin stated of the commerce. “From a group perspective furthermore, Or no longer it is better to procure volunteers as in opposition to hostages.”
Tomlin’s “volunteers as in opposition to hostages” line has been ragged in identical outdated eventualities. A form of instances used to be at some stage in Le’Veon Bell’s holdout that in the end resulted in Bell missing the total 2018 season over a contract dispute. Bell’s holdout used to be an undeniable distraction for the Steelers, who started 7-2-1 that season ahead of shedding four out of their closing six video games to miss the playoffs for the foremost time in 5 years.
Ingram’s peril can procure a much less foremost impact on the Steelers, even although they’ve misplaced a ragged pass rusher who used to be brought to Pittsburgh to add depth within the assist of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. As of Tuesday afternoon, the most traditional diversified commence air linebacker on the Steelers’ depth chart used to be Derrek Tuszka, a Broncos 2020 seventh-spherical hang who as a senior at North Dakota Command used to be his conference’s defensive participant of the One year.
Given the inability of Ingram, the Steelers may perchance well well are trying to replace him by means of commerce ahead of this day’s 4 p.m. ET closing date. Regardless, plainly the Ingram commerce used to be an addition by subtraction for Tomlin and the Steelers. Pittsburgh will face Ingram in Week 16, when the Chiefs host the Steelers in sport that will procure necessary playoff implications.
