The Kansas City Chiefs’ move to acquire veteran pass rusher Melvin Ingram at the trade deadline in a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a pivotal point in their season.
The trade left many fans wondering how such a productive talent could land in the lap of a Super Bowl contender. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shed some light on the situation that brought about the deal in November in his comments to media on Tuesday, telling reporters that Ingram didn’t fit in with where his team was headed.
“We didn’t weigh their circumstances, we weighed our circumstances,” Tomlin said. “Not only the tangible element of our circumstances, but the intangible quality that makes us a team. Like I mentioned when we moved him, we had an opportunity to get value for him and so that was entertaining and interesting to us. But also, to be quite honest with you and blunt, Melvin (Ingram) no longer wanted to be here. And for us, we prefer volunteers as opposed to hostages. And we believe that’s a formula that allows us to come together in ways that you can’t measure.”
Tomlin continued his statement on the matter by pointing out how far he feels his team has come despite significant adversity, and without the services of Ingram who clearly didn’t want to be a Steeler. He pointed out specifically that Pittsburgh’s win in Week 15 was emblematic of the culture he has created on his team, and that the need to maintain that part of the equation was more important than any gain the Chiefs might’ve gotten at their expense.
“To do the things we were able to do last week — to smile collectively in the face of adversity and do what’s required to get out of the stadium with necessary wins,” Tomlin continued. “That’s more of a function of us and the things that we value and less about Kansas City, the things that they needed or the prospects of playing them later in the season.”
While his statement on Ingram seemed pointed given how little coaches tend to talk about former players, Tomlin won’t have long to keep him in the forefront of his mind. Now in his fourteenth year as the Steelers’ skipper, he will face one of the most formidable opponents of his career in the Chiefs with the chance to win a share of the AFC North lead with a win.
[listicle id=113437]