The National Football League appears to be skeptical of the Buffalo Bills' hot start to the season. The team is already rolling, moving to 2-0 after blowing out the Miami Dolphins on primetime Thursday Night football. Almost immediately after the game, the NFL requested that the Bills red-hot cornerback, Ja’Marcus Ingram, report for a drug test.
Ingram had a career game that saw him pick off Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa twice, and he returned one of them for a 31-yard touchdown. His performance helped the Bills notch a 31-10 victory over their divisional foe, which saw a very rare occurrence where star quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills offense didn’t have to do much. On Monday, Bills’ veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas took to Instagram to show the team celebrating what appeared to be Ja’Marcus Ingram receiving the game ball in the locker room. His next post was joking around about how thirty seconds after that, Ingram was notified by the NFL that he had to report for a mandatory drug test. Ingram posed with the written notice from the league.
The NFL randomly conducts drug tests in an attempt to sniff out players on Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). Several players have taken to social media over the last few years to document how the NFL has contacted them for a test after big games, or social media training videos that show off some of their rare athletic ability. Ingram, an under-the-radar player the team has been developing for a few years, seems to have fallen victim to that after an out-of-nowhere breakout game.
Who is Ja'Marcus Ingram?
Ingram has shown up on the scene fast for the Bills this year and some might be asking who he is, as the NFL seems to be doing that as well. Coming out of South Oak Cliff High School in Texas, Ingram had zero college offers despite being an All-District player. He had to walk on Utah State where he played for two seasons. The wide receiver turned defensive back, went on to transfer to Texas Tech where he played an additional two seasons.
In his final season of college ball, Ingram transferred again, this time to the University of Buffalo. He finished his college career with a total of 148 tackles, 16 passes defended, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. He went undrafted in 2022 but was invited on a tryout basis for the Buffalo Bills. He impressed the Bills’ brass enough to make the initial roster and has been on the practice squad since then. Ingram was elevated 5 times for the Bills over the last few years but didn’t receive much playing time. This past summer he had an impressive training camp and made the 53-man roster.
Due to injuries, Ingram was forced into action early on week one. The team has been running a lot of dime-look defense ever since last season, as they feel having extra defensive backs on the field benefits them more. Fellow UB alum defensive back Cam Lewis was forced into the nickel role when All-Pro Taron Johnson exited the game against the Cardinals. Lewis was supposed to be the dime-back, however, Ingram was thrust into the role.
Ingram did not disappoint. He made the game-winning pass breakup in week one and then balled out against the Dolphins. It’s actually a testament to the hard work Ingram has put in over the years and he never gave up. He’s starting to look like another one of those defensive gems this team has become accustomed to finding. Instead of mandating a drug test, the NFL should connect the dots of the Bills essentially being a defensive back factory for years now. Most of that is thanks to Sean McDermott and the eight years he’s been in Buffalo to implement his system, and develop players with the traits he and general manager Brandon Beane look for.