Sean Payton: New Orleans Saints want to keep RB Mark Ingram

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton made it very clear that the franchise wants to bring starting running back Mark Ingram back in free agency this offseason.

Mark Ingram finally came through for the New Orleans Saints and showed the potential that they have been waiting to see from him. He had been extremely inconsistent throughout his first three seasons, but the 2014 season was a major breakthrough for him.

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There are some concerns from teams and analysts alike that see Ingram playing his best football in a contract year, but teams won’t allow that to stop them from pursuing him. New Orleans would like to bring back their starting running back, and Sean Payton made that very clear when talking to the media.

“I spoke with Mark today,” Payton said. “The good thing about Mark is that we’re very close with his agent. Mickey (Loomis, the Saints general manager) will talk with him quite a bit. Obviously Mark is someone who we want to keep. Hopefully we can do that.”

During the 2014 season, Ingram ended up rushing for 964 yards and nine touchdowns on 226 carries. That rounds out to 4.3 yards per carry, which is very solid. He wasn’t the focus of the offense with star quarterback Drew Brees still being the main leader for the Saints, but he did an excellent job of taking pressure off of Brees’ shoulders and giving the Saints another dimension to their offense.

At 25 years old, there are going to be quite a few teams intrigued by him on the open market. If he can continue playing the type of explosive football that he did last season, he will continue having success.

There aren’t many defenders that can bring down Ingram with ease. Ingram is 5’9″ and 215 pounds, which gives him the bowling ball effect that he used so much to his advantage last year. The Saints need that type of running back to be successful, and there aren’t many others out there that would fit their system.

More than likely, the Saints and Ingram will be able to work something out that brings him back to New Orleans. Both sides know that they can be successful with each other, and the Saints will likely be willing to give up the type of money that it takes to bring Ingram back. That being said, there are going to be quite a few other teams with interest in signing him.

No matter what happens, Ingram is going to get a nice payday this offseason and the future looks very bright for him.

H/T Fox Sports

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