On November 30, the Kansas City Chiefs introduced a new face to their practice session – former Arizona Cardinals running back Keaontay Ingram. Shortly after this revelation, various members of the Kansas City media reported on the transaction.
Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney was one of the first to confirm that the deal involves a practice squad arrangement for Ingram, the 2022 sixth-round pick from USC. Ingram, released by the Cardinals on November 28, will be joining reserve running backs La’Mical Perine and Deneric Prince on the practice squad, enhancing the Chiefs’ depth at the position.
The decision by Arizona to part ways with Ingram after just over a year is justified, considering his underwhelming performance. The 24-year-old has an average of 2.2 yards per carry in his career, with one touchdown and a total of 181 scrimmage yards over 20 games. This aligns with the scouting report from the spring of 2022, which described him as a running back prospect with decent size and quickness but left room for improvement.
While he demonstrated the ability to create additional yardage with quick decision-making, there were no standout qualities noted by NFL Network expert Lance Zierlein. The Chiefs are interested to see if Ingram’s NFL experience will give him an advantage over Prince in the future.
The Chiefs say they’ve added RB Keaontay Ingram to their practice squad.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) November 30, 2023
Ingram and Prince might compete for playing time in a “next man up” scenario, especially with Perine out of practice squad elevations for the 2023 campaign. If the Chiefs wish to include Perine in the regular season again, they would have to sign him to the 53-man roster, a move they might prefer to avoid. In case of new injuries, they could instead elevate Ingram or Prince.
The veteran running back Jerick McKinnon is currently being monitored due to a groin issue that caused him to miss Week 12. Although he returned to practice in a limited fashion on November 30, his health remains a concern. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the backups dealing with illnesses and less-than-ideal injury histories, signing Ingram serves as an additional insurance policy for potential absences.
I'm sure the Chiefs saw something in Keaontay Ingram 👀 pic.twitter.com/1SakgZuPw9
— how bout those CHIEFS (@hbtCHIEFS) November 30, 2023
While it may take a couple of weeks for Ingram to acclimate to the complex Kansas City offense, the Chiefs still have three elevations available for Prince if needed. As of now, the top three ball-carriers for Kansas City should be ready for Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers, with the team having a 66% win probability according to projections by Quarter4. The current spread is -6 in favor of KC, and this game marks the Chiefs’ first time playing at Lambeau Field since 2015.