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Ja’Marcus Ingram #46 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates scoring a 31 yard touchdown after intercepting a pass thrown by Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter in the game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 12, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Buffalo Bills lost cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram in a controversial personnel decision late in the season, then watched as he snagged an interception in a playoff game.
The Bills had developed Ingram for four years after signing him as an undrafted free agent from the University of Buffalo, but lost him on waivers after a failed attempt to claim Darius Slay. Ingram went to the Houston Texans, where he played a significant role and intercepted New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in a divisional-round playoff loss.
Former Bills Cornerback Gets First Playoff Interception
Ingram picked off Maye in the closing seconds of the first half, with the Patriots at the edge of field goal range. The Patriots quarterback threw deep to the endzone, but Ingram came up with the ball and the Texans were able to go into the half without giving up any more points.
Though the Patriots ended up cruising to a 28-16 victory and a trip to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game, it was a career moment for Ingram. He had only two career interceptions going into Sunday’s game, both coming in the same game during the 2024 season with the Bills, and had no interceptions in three playoff appearances with the Bills.
Ingram appeared in five regular-season games for the Texans after being waived by the Bills in December, making six tackles with two passes defensed.
Bills Angry Over Losing Ja’Marcus Ingram
Ingram left the Bills in a controversial move, with the team waiving him to pick up Slay after the veteran defensive back was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Slay announced soon afterward that he would not report to the Bills, meaning they lost Ingram and got nothing in return.
“Slay is honored that a first-class organization like the Bills claimed him, but he is going to take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing,” Slay’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Bills chose not to waive Slay, instead putting him on the reserve/did not report list. That left Slay ineligible to play for the Bills and not able to find a new team unless the Bills relented and chose to waive him.
Slay sparked more controversy this postseason when he appeared at a Philadelphia Eagles game, sparking rumors that he was hoping to engineer an exit from Buffalo so he would return to the Eagles.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott was visibly upset after the Texans claimed Ingram, saying the team planned to bring him back to the practice squad if he had cleared waivers.
“It’s unfortunate that that unfolded and went down the way it did. I’m a huge JaMarcus Ingram fan and will always be,” McDermott said, via SI.com. “I’m always gonna be in his corner and want the best for him. That’s really where my mind is right now and getting myself ready to coach this game.”
The Bills could have used Ingram down the final stretch, when they were hit by injuries. Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston was hurt in the season finale, missing both playoff games including the overtime loss to Denver on Saturday.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
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