Both the Ravens and Chiefs made use of a rarely used tender today. Per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), free agent linebackers Justin Houston and Melvin Ingram were hit with UFA tenders by Baltimore and Kansas City, respectively.
This makes July 22 (or the first day of training camp, whichever is later) a relatively important date for the two veterans. If they sign with a new team before that date, then they’ll count toward the compensatory pick formula (benefiting their 2021 team). If they remain unsigned, then their 2021 squad will have exclusive negotiating rights, meaning the player will either return to the organization or sit unsigned.
Houston’s offer from Baltimore is worth 110% of his 2021 salary, which was $2.075MM. The veteran inked a one-year deal with the Ravens last offseason, and he ended up collecting 34 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 15 starts for his new team. Houston spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Chiefs, including a 2014 campaign where he compiled 22 sacks.
Per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com, the Chiefs effectively offered Ingram a one-year deal worth $4.4MM. The linebacker was traded to Kansas City last November, and he saw time in nine games (six starts) down the stretch, collecting 15 tackles and one sack. The 33-year-old added another two sacks in three playoff games. The former first-round pick spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Chargers, collecting 49 sacks and three Pro Bowl appearances.