91 Buffalo Bills players in 91 days: CB Ja’Marcus Ingram

The Buffalo Bills have been a solid team for developing defensive backs. That reputation has endured for quite some time, at least as long as head coach Sean McDermott has been in town. The Bills took veterans rejected by other teams and improved them, but they also found plenty of late-round gems in the draft.

Another thing the team did was find undrafted players in the defensive backfield that fit well with the team’s defensive scheme. This is a risky business, as there are often many good reasons why a player goes undrafted. However, sometimes it’s just a matter of circumstances. In a defensive back-friendly system like Buffalo’s, often just finding someone who does one thing particularly well makes them a great fit.

If a corner is going to make his way to the back of the lineup, it’s also mandatory that he contribute on special teams. On today’s edition of “91 Players in 91 Days,” we discuss one such defensive back.

Name: Ja’Marcus Ingram

Number: 46

Position: CB

Size weight: 6’2″, 190 pounds

Age: 26 (27 on 09/02/2024)

Experience/Project: 1; signed with Bills as a UDFA after the 2022 NFL Draft

College: Buffalo

Acquired: UDFA signature

Financial situation (by Spotrac): Ingram signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bills at the end of the 2023 NFL season. This two-year contract is worth a total of $1,952,500, of which only $7,500 is guaranteed. This figure represents the dead cap load Buffalo will carry if Ingram is released before the start of the season. If Ingram makes the team, he will count $918,750 against Buffalo’s 2024 salary cap.

2023 summary: Ingram again spent the year on Buffalo’s practice squad, and he again saw action in a few games thanks to the injuries that plagued him. During the preseason, he recorded seven tackles and one interception. During the regular season, he only appeared in three games without recording any statistics. He played eight snaps on defense, all of which came in Buffalo’s 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. He was also active the following week when the Bills defeated the New York Giants 14-9. The next time he was active was in Buffalo’s 37-34 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Positioning prospects: Ingram is one of many corners in camp right now. Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Kaiir Elam, Kyron Brown, Dee Delaney, Te’Cory Couch and Keni-H Lovely are the other outside corners, while Taron Johnson, Daequan Hardy and Cam Lewis are corners whose main role is in the slot machine. .

2024 offseason: Ingram is healthy and has participated in some off-season work thus far.

Outlook for the 2024 season: Although wideout has gotten most of the attention in terms of positions needed this spring, cornerback is another spot where I view the Bills as being too thin. Since Benford hasn’t shown he can stay healthy for an entire season, Elam hasn’t shown he can earn playing time consistently and Douglas is limited in what he can done schematically, this is a group that worries me. regarding competition with other elite clubs in the AFC.

It’s safe to say that Ingram has a good chance of not only making the roster, but also taking Siran Neal’s place on special teams as the primary shooter – and also as CB4. If Benford goes down and Elam continues to force his way into McDermott’s niche, we’re not far from Ingram playing meaningful snaps against a team like the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas Dolphins. Miami – all teams with elite passing offenses. and elite receiving options.

If there’s one position on the roster where we should “trust the process” of development, it’s the defensive secondary. However, this is also a place where I would like to see the bills added this summer.

For now, I would have Ingram on the roster. He’s also the guy I would consider my weakest link if I were the coaching staff, so I’d try to find someone who can relegate Ingram to the practice squad.