The Miami Dolphins parted ways with FB Alec Ingold today. As their franchise rebuild and eventual divorce from QB Tua Tagovailoa comes to fruition, Miami is searching for ways to become cap compliant. K Jason Sanders was also released by the Dolphins.
Because he was cut before the start of the tampering period, Ingold is eligible to negotiate and sign with other teams immediately. Like new Chargers center Tyler Biadasz, Ingold would not count against the comp pick formula for his new team.
It’s hard to not immediately link Alec Ingold with the Chargers and new OC Mike McDaniel.
As Joe Hortiz said at the combine last week when talking about the offensive line, scheme fit will be important for the Chargers as they transition to Mike McDaniel’s offense. Some players were a good fit for Greg Roman’s gap scheme, but may ultimately not fit in McDaniel’s 2026 plans. While Scott Matlock has done an admirable job improving in the Bolts’ experimentation with him at fullback, they can still upgrade that spot.
Ingold was a great run blocker in Miami under McDaniel. As a pass blocker last season, Ingold gave up just one pressure. The former Dolphin also has the athleticism to be able to contribute on certain plays with the ball in space himself, even if it isn’t his calling card. Ingold has 611 receiving yards and six total touchdowns for his career.
Ingold coming to Los Angeles would also take some of the pressure off of the currently shallow tight end room. Only Oronde Gadsden II remains on the roster from last season there. A high floor blocker and fullback option is exactly what the Chargers could use before they add more tight ends via free agency and the draft.
Other teams will obviously be interested in the former Pro Bowl full back's services. But on paper, reuniting with McDaniel would make a lot of sense for both the team and Ingold. The Chargers need someone who can reliably get out in space and block in the new zone-based scheme. Until proven otherwise, that player isn’t really Matlock in my opinion. Someone with higher athletic upside is needed there.
Not affecting the comp pick formula is also a hard element to ignore here. We’ve seen that methodology impact and incentivize several of Hortiz’s roster decisions over the past three years. Biadasz and Ingold would provide some value there while being relatively cheap contracts compared to the market.