New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram is finally back with the team. After deciding to skip the voluntary portion of the team’s offseason program in an attempt to draw attention to his contract situation, Ingram has reported for the first day of mandatory minicamp, per Nick Underhill of The Advocate.

Saints head coach Sean Payton had previously indicated that Ingram would indeed be in attendance for the mandatory practices. By showing up, Ingram will avoid the $84,000 fine he’d have to pay for missing the three-day minicamp.

Ingram, who will miss the first four games of the season after testing positive for PEDs, is in the final year of his current contract which will pay him $4 million this year and is eyeing a new one. The 28-year-old is coming off a career year in 2017 as he had 1,124 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and added 58 catches for 416 receiving yards.

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JC Latham (Alabama), Chris Braswell (Alabama not Jaguars), Cornelieus Johnson (Michigan) in action behind a New Orleans Saints logo with a 2024 NFL Draft background.

Dylan Bruton ·

But with the emergence of reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara, it seems unlikely that the Saints will readily commit the amount of money that will likely be needed to retain Ingram in their backfield.

If Ingram wants to get paid the sort of money he’s looking for, he’ll likely need to put together another impressive campaign once he returns and hopes someone will be willing to pay him in the open market. And after missing all of OTAs, his first step to prepping for this important season will be during minicamp, where he'll have to get himself up to speed.