It seemed things had gone from bad to worse for Minnesota Vikings guard Ed Ingram.
The 2022 second-round pick lost his starting job to Dalton Risner in Week 11 and was benched for the following two weeks.
Last week, Ingram did not dress as a healthy scratch from the gameday roster.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the decision on Monday, December 2, following the team’s 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals, detailing the move as purely logistic.
“I wouldn’t read anything into it. Ed’s been doing a great job. I would anticipate as we get healthy and can stack a full week for Cam together, I would anticipate Ed be back up,” O’Connell said. “Absolutely nothing to do with anything larger picture or anything.”
Starting left tackle Cam Robinson was questionable with a foot injury heading into the Week 14 matchup, leading to a need for more depth at tackle.
“Cam Robinson did a hell of a job working through that foot (injury). He was going to give it a go, but we wanted to make sure. We felt stressed (Week 12) in Chicago, having only one tackle for the game beyond Cam,” O’Connell said. “We wanted to get (Walter) Rouse up. With that, needed Dan Feeney, because he’s one of our backup centers.”
Rouse and Feeney both play multiple spots on the offensive line. Meanwhile, Michael Jurgens and Ingram, solely guards, were deactivated due to the numbers game.
“Jurgens and Ingram, both those guys, it was the necessity of the numbers for the day,” O’Connell added.
Dalton Risner Lost for Words From Ingram’s Support Despite Week 11 Benching
After the Vikings’ win over the Tennessee Titans that week, Risner told KFAN’s Paul Allen that Ingram was a force in helping him prepare for hist first start at right guard after playing on the left side his whole career.
“Wheew, PA, it’s tough to talk about because he was such a good dude,” Risner said of Ingram. “First guy to hug me after the game. One of the first people to come up and tell me he was proud of me to get the start. I’d be remiss if I didn’t really just say how much I love Ed and how grateful I am.”
Later the following week, Risner added that Ingram handled the benching not only like a “true pro” but a “true friend.”
“He handled it like a true pro, not even like a true pro, just like a true friend. The way he was with me, running with me after practice, praying for me, praying with me, talking me on the sidelines through the whole game on good and bad plays… Huge shoutout to him,” Risner said in a locker room interview on November 21. “Really grateful for him, he’s gonna make become better, and I hope and I can do the same for him.”
#Vikings G Dalton Risner on Ed Ingram:
“He handled it as a true friend. The way he was with me, running with me after practice, praying for me, praying with me, talking me on the sidelines through the whole game on good and bad plays… Huge shoutout to him, really grateful for…
O’Connell Calls Benching Ingram a ‘Growth Moment’ for Vikings Guard
After hearing word that Ingram’s support of Risner the week he was benched, O’Connell shared he spent plenty of time coaching Ingram that week.
“I said, ‘This is a big opportunity for you. A growth moment, where you get to take a step back and see how Dalton operates and really apply the things you see when you get your next opportunity’ — which he’s going to — ‘you’ll be ready to go and that much better off,’ ” O’Connell said on KFAN on November 19.
O’Connell added that Ingram, a Day 1 starter after arriving on a four-year, $6 million contract in 2022, has never had the chance to sit and watch how his teammates prepare.
“The last part of it was: ‘These guys have been here for you every step of the way, my expectation is you’re going to do the same for them,’ ” O’Connell said. “To hear that and to know how Ed handled what was a tough week for him, it makes me really proud of Ed and confirmes everything we thought about him from the moment we pulled his card and drafted him.”
