Mike Tomlin delivered a great quote this week ahead of his Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Steelers traded Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs in early November for a sixth-round pick. Ingram dealt with a groin injury in Pittsburgh and was unhappy on the team. That is why the Steelers traded him.
Tomlin could not have captured that sentiment in better terms than what he said on Tuesday.
“We didn’t weigh their circumstances, no. We weighed our circumstances. Not only the tangible element of our circumstances, but the intangible quality that makes up 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 no longer wanted to be here. And for us, we prefer volunteers as opposed to hostages,” Tomlin said of the situation.
That’s a great line — they prefer volunteers and not hostages. They used similar language when talking about Le’Veon Bell, who sat out a season rather than play for Pittsburgh.
It’s a lot easier to build a team when you have people who buy in rather than get in the way of what you’re trying to accomplish. And none of this means the Steelers thought Ingram was a bad player.
In six games with the Chiefs, Ingram has had 10 tackles and a sack, just like he had in six games with the Steelers.
Photo: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports
