Melvin Ingram inks contract with Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins signed former South Carolina star Melvin Ingram to a contract on Sunday, per Jordan Schultz. The standout defensive end posted a PFF grade of 80.4 last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs–which is quite strong.

Last year with the Chiefs, Ingram made a game-changing play when he blew up Broncos’ running back Melvin Gordon in the backfield, forcing a fumble that Kansas City returned for a touchdown. Clearly, Ingram still has plenty of juice left in the tank and it’ll be exciting to see what he can contribute to the Dolphins’ defense.

While Ingram is winding down his career and he’s clearly well past his prime, he can still make plays to impact the outcome of the game and he showed that last year. At the peak of his NFL career, the former Gamecock was a three-time Pro Bowler (2017, 2018, and 2019).

From a production standpoint, his numbers were the best during his 2015 and 2017 seasons with the LA Chargers. Both of those seasons he racked up 10.5 sacks and double-digit tackles for loss.

Thus far in his remarkably impressive NFL career, Ingram has racked up 385 tackles, 119 quarterback hits, 51 sacks, 74 tackles for loss, 15 forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries.

Ingram has made a name for himself over the years with his freakishly quick speed off the edge and his dominant ability as a pass rusher. In his prime, the freakish defensive end was one of the game’s very best at his position.

When he was at South Carolina, Ingram established himself as one of the nation’s premiere defensive ends. During the 2011 season, he racked up 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. Following that season, he earned consensus All-American honors and helped propel South Carolina to a No. 4 final ranking in the national polls.

What is perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Ingram scored three touchdowns that year, too. Two of them came in a 45-42 victory against the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the touchdowns he had in the game was a fake punt that he took to the house for a 68-yard touchdown.

To this day, it’s one of the more freakish plays in college football history from a defensive end. For a 275-pound man to showcase that kind of speed and wiggle in the open field is rare. Ingram played running back in high school and he certainly showed on that play that his natural instincts and skill never left him.

Coming out of Richmond Senior High School (Rockingham, North Carolina), he was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 16 edge defender in America, per the 2007 On3 Consensus Rankings.