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Hey, good for Mark Ingram. There was some speculation among New Orleans Saints fans that he could return at a veteran’s minimum salary to replace running back Latavius Murray (a potential salary cap cut), but instead he’ll be running with the Houston Texans in 2021. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday afternoon that Ingram agreed to a free agent contract worth up to $3 million. That’s not a price the Saints would likely pay, especially if they had to move on from Murray to get there.
Ingram made a Pro Bowl appearance after signing with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, but their loaded depth chart saw him take a step back in the rotation. His reluctance to play special teams made him a healthy scratch late in his Ravens career, so now he’ll look to compete for touches with David Johnson, who signed an extension this offseason.
It would have been a great story to see Ingram come back to New Orleans and win the franchise rushing yards record (he’s ranked second-best in team history with 6,007, behind Deuce McAllister’s 6,096) to go with his rushing touchdowns record (50). Especially considering that Alvin Kamara is probably going to break that scoring record very soon — he’s already bagged 43 touchdown runs, leading the league with 21 scores on the ground last season.
That said, it’ll take time for Kamara to catch up to Ingram and McAllister’s rushing yards totals (he’s only up to 3,340 so far), but his long-term contract extension gives him a real shot at owning both records. It’s just a shame he and Ingram couldn’t stay together as one of the NFL’s most electric running back duos.
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