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The Kansas City Chiefs waived veteran running back Keaontay Ingram with an injury tag.

The Kansas City Chiefs finalized two roster moves on the evening of May 15, as they appeared on the NFL transaction log.

KSHB 41 Chiefs reporter Nick Jacobs relayed them on X, stating: “The Chiefs have waived RB Keaontay Ingram [with] injury. The team also waived WR Justin Lockhart with an injury settlement, per NFL Transactions.”

Ingram is a former sixth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. He first joined the Chiefs in 2023 following his release from the Cardinals.

Since then, Ingram has been a quiet staple of the Kansas City practice squad. Despite being elevated a few times over his one year and change with the Chiefs, Ingram has only dressed for one regular-season outing with KC.

In it, he only received 5 special teams snaps. Ingram has never received a snap on offense with the Chiefs, outside of the preseason.

Speaking of the preseason, Ingram’s best chance to make an impact with the Chiefs came in training camp last summer. With a need at running back in Kansas City, Ingram was given an opportunity to compete for an active roster spot.

Over three preseason outings, he carried the ball 9 times for 42 yards and a yards per carry average of 4.67 yards. Ingram also rushed for 3 first downs, but no touchdowns.

The Brashard Smith selection makes Ingram’s presence somewhat redundant in 2025.

Lockhart was initially waived from the 90-man roster after signing as an undrafted rookie. Similar to Ingram now, KC attempted to move him to the injured list after passing through waivers, but apparently Lockhart prefers to take his chances elsewhere as he’s pushed for an injury settlement.

Chiefs Could Try & Retain RB Keaontay Ingram on the Injured Reserve

Assuming Ingram passes through waivers, there’s a good chance the Chiefs will attempt to retain his rights — initially, at least — on some sort of injured list.

Having said that, the most likely outcome is that Ingram ends up like Lockhart, exiting town with an injury settlement.

Of course, there is a scenario where Ingram is actually hurt badly enough to miss the entire 2025 season. If that’s the case, he might choose to remain with the Chiefs, taking a spot on the long-term injured reserve or the PUP list.

An early May designation like that would conclude Ingram’s 2025 campaign, however, and it’s more likely he agrees to an injury settlement that pays him and prevents him from signing with a new team until he’s fully recovered.

It’s unclear what sort of injury Ingram has.

Chiefs RB Room Drops to 6 Ahead of Mandatory Minicamp

The Chiefs’ running back room briefly spiked up to seven bodies after the draft, and the signing of undrafted rookie Elijah Young.

Now, Ingram’s cut drops it back down to six.

With Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt expected to headline the group, the main training camp battle should occur between the aforementioned Smith, free agent addition Elijah Mitchell, 2024 UDFA Carson Steele and Young.

This summer competition will likely be for the third-down pass-catcher and change-of-pace role.

As a drafted prospect, Smith will certainly have the leg up here, but perhaps KC keeps two of these four. Setting up an interesting head-to-head between the veteran comeback story (Mitchell) and the KC fan favorite (Steele).

Young will be vying for a practice squad spot initially, unless he manages to impress enough to warrant active roster consideration as Steele did in 2024.

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus specialize on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, his previous bylines include Heavy on Jets, FanDuel’s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller