Despite NFL free agency opening up over two months ago, the Miami Dolphins are still making additions to their team that could prove to be impactful.
The Dolphins officially signed veteran linebacker Melvin Ingram this week to a one-year contract that could be worth up to $5 million, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Ingram’s deal will count for a $3.92 million cap hit. He’ll $1.65 million in the form of a signing bonus, $1.67 million in base salary, $680,000 in per-game roster bonuses, $750,000 in playtime/sack/team defense incentives and $250,000 if he makes the Pro Bowl.
This money is probably fair for a player of Ingram’s caliber at this stage of his career. He’s still able to create pressure, but he hasn’t been able to convert sacks in recent years. Miami knows better than anyone that pressure can be just as important as the actual sacks themselves.
Ingram, at 33, will probably be used more situationally with the Dolphins in 2022. There would be some genuine surprise to see him hit the 80% of defensive snaps workload that he had been prior to 2021.
However, a big reason Dolphins fans should be happy about this signing is that he could help Jaelan Phillips take his game to the next level. If he’s generating pressures while playing roughly 50% of snaps and helping some of the younger linebackers develop, the signing is more than worth it.
