One year ago, Ed Ingram took a gamble. He landed in Houston last offseason seeking a fresh start. One year later, he's revived his career and has opened up about the coaching factor that changed it all.

“What better place for them to be than Houston?” Ingram said. “I came here, I excelled. Shout out to Cole Popovich. He never let me get complacent, and he always challenged me.”

Following a three-season slump, Ingram proved to be an asset at the Texans as he emerged as one of the NFL's top run-blocking guards last year, and Popovich was a huge reason why.

The offensive line coach comes with over a decade and a half of coaching experience, spending multiple seasons with the New England Patriots, where he won two Super Bowls. And ever since he joined the Texans, he has transformed their O-line.

Under Popovich, the Texans allowed only 31 sacks, the fewest since 2014, and went five games without even giving up a single sack. That enabled Ingram to play his best, as he explained.

“Personally, I’ve always thought I’m a great player. All I need is the right person to help me. Coming here was probably the best thing to ever happen to me in my career, coming here and having a coach,” he said during his conversation with KPRC 2 reporter Aaron Wilson.

According to Pro Football Focus, he earned an 86.1 run-blocking grade through the opening month, trailing just Quenton Nelson. On top of that, he finished his season with a 75.6 run-blocking grade, which was eight best in the league, and a 71.5 overall blocking grade.

His elite-level production gave the Texans enough reason to retain him this March, just hours before he was set to hit free agency. He signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal worth $12.5 million per year.

Last season was certainly a successful one for him, and now he's back as a cornerstone of an offensive line coached by Popovich.

Ingram is happy with the O-line additions

Last year, Houston did make some changes to their roster, but this year they changed their entire offensive lineup. After Ingram’s contract extension, Houston added veteran guards Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith to their team.

They re-signed Trent Brown and used a first-round pick on lineman Keylan "Big Red" Rutledge. With C.J. Stroud taking just 23 sacks last season, Houston has made necessary changes, and the expectations are sky high.

“The offensive line, we have gelled together quite well. I feel like Pop has got a good group of guys in a room together. We are all like-minded, and all have one common goal, which is just showing each and everybody that the line here, that it’s changed,” said Ingram, per KPRC 2.

While new names have been added to the team, Ingram believes the Texans will have a great season.

“We’re doing a complete 180, and we’re a different line, we’re a different unit, and the team can rely on us to run behind us, block for C.J., and we’re going to have a great year,” Ingram said.

Given that, what are your thoughts about Ingram? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar