This week, the New Orleans Saints welcomed the return of Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram from his four-game suspension to begin the season due to him violating the league's performance-enhancing policy.
Ingram is now set to put that behind him with his first opportunity to play on Monday night against the Washington Redskins. On Friday he voiced much excitement about making his return to the field, according to Herbie Teope of NFL.com.
Article Continues Below“I'm going to be excited, for sure, I've had a lot of stuff pent up and built up,” he said. “I'm ready to go. I'm hungry and ready to play ball.”
Ingram's presence in the backfield should provide a significant boost to the offense, as he has proven to be one of the better running backs in the league over the last couple of years. He is coming off arguably his best season where he posted a career-high 1,124 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns while hauling in 58 catches for 416 receiving yards, earning his second career Pro Bowl selection.
New Orleans has been able to make it by without him on the field over the first month of the season with fellow Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara stepping up to prove that he is a highly effective dual-threat option. Kamara is currently eighth in the league with 275 rushing yards and first with five rushing touchdowns while placing third with 35 receptions for 336 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The return of Ingram should once again give the Saints one of the league best running games that should take their offense to yet another level as one of the most potent in the NFL, similarly to what it was a year ago.