Pittsburgh hosted the 2026 draft, and the event was a huge success. The attendance record was broken, and the Steelers added 10 players to their roster. However, the city didn’t escape the draft unscathed. It’s become a draft tradition for fans and former players who announce picks to troll other teams, most often the host city’s team. Former Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram II and his son took the opportunity to take shots at the Steelers, and he recently explained how that came together.
“The Ravens had posted Haloti Ngata announcing a Ravens pick with his three sons one time,” Ingram said on The Triple Option podcast. “He was like, ‘All my sons were born in Baltimore, and they were all raised to say one thing.’
“They all went to the mic, they said, ‘The Steelers suck.’ My wheels got to spinning. I’m like, ‘Mark [Ingram III], if we go up there and they’re booing, I’m gonna go and say we got a message for you guys, Steelers.’ And he’s gonna say, ‘Steelers still suck.’ Haloti Ngata and his sons, we got the vibe from them.”
Ngata’s moment came in 2024, and he made it a family affair as Ingram did, bringing his sons with him. They announced the Ravens’ first-round pick that year. However, before naming the player, they joked about the Steelers, even though that year’s draft was in Detroit.
That helps add some context to Ingram’s burn. He only played for the Ravens for two seasons, and he didn’t have much success against the Steelers. Baltimore went 2-2 against Pittsburgh during Ingram’s tenure there, but he played against them once. Ingram ran for 44 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries that day, posting 2.3 yards per carry. The Ravens won, but Ingram didn’t have a great game.
Ingram picked up the torch from Ngata, though. Perhaps they’ll start a trend of Ravens players and their children trying to roast the Steelers at the draft. However, considering how last season ended, Ingram’s insult didn’t hit as hard.
Also, Ingram made it clear during that same video that he doesn’t have any real bad blood with Pittsburgh.
“They showed love… My son loved it… I appreciate Pittsburgh because they helped me create a core memory for my son.”
It’s nice that Ingram included his son, and it certainly made the moment more memorable. With the Steelers ending the Ravens’ season last year, the games between the two teams in 2026 will likely already have a different level of intensity. Ingram’s words probably didn’t add much gas to that fire. We’ll see which team gets the last laugh this season, though.
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