The New Orleans Saints are coming off an impressive season that saw them reach the divisional round of the playoffs led by their dynamic running game of their Pro Bowl running backs in Mark Ingram and Offensive Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara.
However, it looks like the Saints will be without one half of that offensive charge for the first month of the season as Ingram has been suspended for the first four games of the 2018 campaign due to violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
Saints running back Mark Ingram has been suspended for the first four games of the season.
The NFL has handed Ingram a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. That’s the standard suspension for a first-time PED offense.
This is a significant blow to the Saints' offense as Ingram has proven to be one of the better running backs in the league over the last couple of years. His pairing alongside Kamara had made for an explosive running game that the Saints hadn't had before that gave balance and less pressure on quarterback Drew Brees to carry the offense with his arm.
Ingram is coming off his two most productive campaigns, breaking the 1,000 rushing yard mark in both campaigns while playing in every game over that span. In the 2017 season, Ingram earned his second career Pro Bowl nod after recording a career-high 1,124 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns, while also hauling in 58 catches for 416 receiving yards.
At this point, there is no clarity as to whether he will appeal the suspension given that it was just handed out. The only thing for certain is that he will at some point address the matter to provide more details as to what transpired to lead to this suspension. It is a fluid situation with more information to emerge in the coming days.
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