Since the Steelers sent disgruntled outside linebacker Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs Nov. 3 at the trade deadline for a 2022 sixth-round draft pick, there has been a consistent vein of discontent among some Steelers fans.
They've wondered why the Steelers would trade Ingram to a future opponent. Any time T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith have been injured or left a game, they've screamed that the Steelers should have held onto Ingram.
This week, as the Steelers (7-6-1) prepare to travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs (10-4), expect those who still pine for Ingram to continue their protests.
But given a chance Tuesday to show any remorse for dealing Ingram to a team the Steelers face this week needing a win to perhaps improve their chances of making the playoffs, Mike Tomlin didn't back down from the decision.
"We didn’t weigh their circumstances, no," said when asked if potentially helping a future opponent weighed at all into the process.
"We weighed our circumstances, not only the tangible element of our circumstances, but the intangible quality that makes up teams. Like I mentioned when we moved him, we had an opportunity to get value for him, so that was interesting for us. But also, to be quite blunt, Melvin no longer wanted to be here."
After a 3-4 start, the Chiefs have won their past seven games. Six of those have come since Kansas City traded for the 32-year-old Ingram, whom the Steelers had acquired as free agent depth just prior to the start of training camp.
But suggesting Ingram is the reason for Kansas City's resurgence would be, well, disingenuous.
While Ingram has started Kansas City's last three games, all victories, he's hardly produced at a prolific rate. In six games since joining the Chiefs, Ingram has 10 tackles, one sack, 1 tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits in 229 defensive snaps.
“He’s had a couple of plays — there was one in the Raiders game the last time where he just knocks people around,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said recently of Ingram. “I think that’s contagious — and that helps us. That’s not just about sacks. It’s if he’s demanding a double team or if he’s driving somebody into the quarterback, the quarterback’s got to move his feet and then he falls into somebody else. So those kinds of things are what we’re getting — and it’s helping. It’s helping a lot.”
One thing the addition of Ingram has done for the Chiefs that is tangible is allow them to move All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones back into the interior of their defense.
Jones missed last week's game against the Chargers while on the Reserve/COVID-19 List and still hasn't been cleared for return to face the Steelers Sunday. But in five games with Ingram, he has 10 tackles, 8 quarterback hits, four sacks -- though 3.5 came in one game -- and two tackles for a loss. In the six games he played before Ingram was acquired, Jones had 10 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for a loss and 6 quarterback hits.
Jones is much more disruptive rushing the passer from the interior and can better affect opposing running games from the interior.
The Chiefs defense has played better of late, but that's also because Kansas City's offense quit turning the ball over. The Chiefs had 19 turnovers in their first eight games. They've had six turnovers in their past six games.
At the same time, the Steelers really haven't missed Ingram all that much because of the emergence of Taco Charlton, who ironically was released by the Chiefs at the end of training camp.
In the six games since Ingram was traded, Charlton has 14 tackles, a half sack, 2 quarterback hits and one game-changing tipped pass in Sunday's win over the Titans that was intercepted by Joe Schobert. He's done that on 156 snaps.
And the Steelers were adamant that they were going to play second-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith ahead of Ingram. Since Ingram was traded, Highsmith has 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss and 5 quarterback hits on 334 snaps.
So, while Kansas City acquiring Ingram allowed the Chiefs to move Jones to his natural defensive tackle position, it's not been a big shift in fortunes for either team, even though Tomlin admits the acquisition of Ingram helped the Chiefs in that regard.
"I can’t say enough about Chris Jones. His versatility is very evident," Tomlin said. "They were lacking in some edge depth early on in the season. He played outside and was a dominant force outside. He’s been a dominant force inside. I think one of the things that has allowed them to gain some traction from a defensive perspective is that in recent months, they’ve been almost exclusively been able to play him inside. And you feel his dominance and presence, not only as a pass rusher producing sacks, bit his ability to disrupt the overall offensive game, bat passes, play the run. He’s a catalyst."
But Tomlin also noted that getting a player out of his young locker room that could have been disruptive also was critical for his team.
"We prefer volunteers instead of hostages. We believe that is a formula that allows us to come together in ways you can’t measure — to do the things we were able to do last week, to smile in the face of adversity," Tomlin said, referring to the team's 19-13 win over the Titans last Sunday. "That’s more about us and the things we value and less about Kansas City and the things they needed or the prospects of playing them later in the season."