Report: Packers among teams 'to keep an eye on' with Saints RB Mark Ingram

-- With free-agent talks between teams beginning to heat up, the Green Bay Packers have already been connected to some of the top names on the market.

One of them, out of left field, is New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com said Sunday that the Packers and Chicago Bears are among teams "to keep an eye on" when it comes to landing the former first-round pick, who is set to be a free agent this week.

The Packers already have two talented tailbacks on their roster with Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, however, a third, skilled piece may be far more useful in Matt LaFleur's offense as opposed to the previous regime.

Ingram was drafted by the Saints in 2011 as a Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, has been to two Pro Bowls and amassed over 6,000 career rushing yards. 

More recently, he was part of one of the league's best rushing tandems, forming a dynamic duo between himself and 2017 third-round pick Alvin Kamara. Ingram has rushed over 1,000 yards in two of his last three seasons -- finding the end zone 12 times in 2017 -- and scored 29 total touchdowns in that same span.

2018 marked the first time Ingram didn't finish a full 16-game season since 2015, only playing in 12 games and finishing with 138 carries -- his lowest since 2013. 

Ingram just turned 29 in December and would present the Packers with a fully loaded arsenal out of the backfield, and under LaFleur, one of the league's brightest offensive minds, the possibilities are endless. But a transaction such as this would leave many wondering whether or not the capital could be invested in other areas of need.

The Packers have pressing deficiencies on the edge, safety and tight end. They may even need to add a wide receiver via free agency or April's draft, but Ingram, who has accumulated 125 catches and over 900 receiving yards in his last three seasons, would benefit them in that respect.

With just south of $36 million in cap space, as estimated by Over The Cap, the Packers shouldn't be handicapped by any of their pursuits in free agency. One other player they've been reported to have expressed interest in is Kansas City Chiefs pass rusher Dee Ford.

__________________________

Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

3 points
 

Comments (55)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Duneslick's picture

March 10, 2019 at 03:23 pm

Packer Greg Says Decent runner 40 catches for 300 yds not that impressive

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BoCallahan's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:56 pm

Who is Packer Greg?

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TKWorldWide's picture

March 11, 2019 at 05:52 am

Is Packer Greg looking to make some serious $ running at the internet from home?

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dobber's picture

March 10, 2019 at 03:34 pm

...just like the Packers were a team to keep an eye on and were in on Antonio Brown?

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Lare's picture

March 10, 2019 at 06:35 pm

According to sources, the Packers ran out of NFL players to be linked to for possible signings so they were also involved in the Bryce Harper and Anthony Davis discussions.

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LeotisHarris's picture

March 10, 2019 at 07:08 pm

Spot on, Lare. A lot of people are also saying Ingram intends to sign a one-day contract and retire was a Packer.

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Bearmeat's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:03 pm

Completely uninterested in paying any above the minimum for an RB.

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dobber's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:43 pm

I thought Carlos Hyde would be a good fit. Chiefs jumped on him fast after he was cut...1 yr/$2.8M?

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Bearmeat's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:05 pm

Yeah. I'd have been on board with that. That's only a million... for a pro team with a 200m payroll, that's like 5 bucks to you and me.

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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

March 10, 2019 at 09:05 pm

Yeah...wish I had 5 bucks.

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Coldworld's picture

March 11, 2019 at 06:21 am

Old expensive running back with little catching ability demonstrated. No thanks. All he will do is keep Jones off the field and reduce the likelihood of using Williams or another who can catch in a more diverse way. No on all fronts.

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dobber's picture

March 11, 2019 at 07:15 am

Caught 59 passes in 2017.

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carlos's picture

March 11, 2019 at 07:04 am

How about Tevon Coleman anyone? Would his price be too high?

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carlos's picture

March 11, 2019 at 07:06 am

I believe the draft would be the best place to get a RB. Just wanted to throw the Coleman thought out there.

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mrtundra's picture

March 11, 2019 at 08:56 am

RB David Montgomery, out of Iowa State, may be available as late as the 4th round, if Gute wants a tough-to-tackle RB. There are lots of good choices at RB in this year's draft who will be on the boards in the later rounds, as well.

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:09 pm

For all of you that so desperately wanted hope and change well here it is... Mark Ingram. LaFleur wants to run the ball a lot more just like most of you want. This move should make everyone in that crowd very happy. As for me I hope they pass.

Dash

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Bearmeat's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:06 pm

Can you just stop with the politics?

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Lare's picture

March 10, 2019 at 06:52 pm

Ignore the Vikings Trolls Bearmeat, they're only here for one purpose.

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 10, 2019 at 07:39 pm

Can you please quit projecting Bearmeat. You wanted change with leadership and you wanted to run the ball more. You and many others hoped for these things and now you got what you wanted. Why are you upset? This was your hope and change. It has nothing to do with politics. Get your head out of the gutter Bearmeat.

Dash

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Bure9620's picture

March 10, 2019 at 08:49 pm

I wanted to run more as well, primarily to make play action more effective. But that does not mean anyone wants to potentially overpay for a vet who may be the 3rd back. I would like to see them draft a back in the middle to later rounds. Darrell Henderson, Jordan Scarlett, Alex Barnes are all intriguing options.

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4thand10's picture

March 10, 2019 at 10:44 pm

I think Alex Barnes will be drafted sooner than that, he’s my draft crush this year....I hope we get him

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Fire_Gute's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:15 pm

I really, really think we should wait a while until we call Lafleur one of the most brilliant offensive minds in the game. Like maybe we should watch him lead a practice or something first

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zerotolerance's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:09 pm

Really. Geez.

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mamasboy's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:10 pm

I thought that was kind of an odd comment too, bearsstill. I hope it turns out to be true, but we haven't seen him even call a play yet.

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TKWorldWide's picture

March 11, 2019 at 05:59 am

And when he DOES call a play, I hope it’s 65 Toss Power Trap.
I also hope they successfully matriculate the ball down the field.

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Bearmeat's picture

March 11, 2019 at 05:09 pm

love that word. lol

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Packer_Fan's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:19 pm

Nope, don't do it. Spending big money on Ingram with already two OK backs will be spending money where the Pack doesn't need it. Fill the holes that are there.

7 points
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Handsback's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:42 pm

Packer Fan, you said it all in two letters OK.....two OK backs won't cut it in the NFL. I think Jones will really be good. My problem is if he gets nicked (this is Green Bay after all) I don't think his replacement is on the roster and the running game will take a hit. Is Ingram all world? No, but I don't think the running game slows down with him in there. Doesn't mean a RB isn't taken in the draft, maybe in the first three rounds, to add depth.

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Minniman's picture

March 10, 2019 at 06:56 pm

I'd love to see the 2019 Packers not necessarily have an "identity" of being a strong running or seam attacking team but have the ability to assume such a role as and when the need arises to do so.

The Packers need either another competent third back, or another decent TE, as they should expect Jones and Williams to get dinged up during the year...... Preferably both, but the fallback should be one or the other.

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holmesmd's picture

March 11, 2019 at 06:27 am

It amazes me the lack of respect that Williams gets on this site. I just don’t get it. He’s a very solid runner and blocker in pass pro. Ingram has more experience but he’s not more talented than Williams in my opinion. Certainly not enough to justify some large expense. If they can get him for a million, fine. I wouldn’t pay more than that.

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ricky's picture

March 10, 2019 at 04:21 pm

Want a running back that is tearing up the field and will probably come cheap? Take a flyer on Trent Richardson of the AAF. Sure, the competition is probably equal to a pre-season game, but he might be the next "Diamond in the rough".

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xTHE_WEEx's picture

March 10, 2019 at 11:35 pm

I do hope you're joking. You know who Trent Richardson is right? He was a complete bust. Next you're going to be telling us that JaMarcus Russell should be our backup QB.

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Flow49's picture

March 11, 2019 at 01:05 am

Pretty sure he’s averaging around 2.5 yards per carry

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Roadrunner23's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:05 pm

Ingram = Smeh...

That is all...

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PeteK's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:10 pm

I want to draft a young back, there will be plenty available with one of our 4th round picks. Improving the O line which includes a TE is key.

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Coldworld's picture

March 11, 2019 at 06:25 am

I’d be perfectly happy if we didn’t draft a running back at all. We have plenty of other needs. Jones, Williams and maybe even Bibbs or a UDFA would work if it helps fill true holes.

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PeteK's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:11 pm

repeat

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ShawnO's picture

March 10, 2019 at 05:32 pm

apparently Packers being aggressive in free agency is linking themselves to everyone but not actually signing anyone.

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Coldworld's picture

March 11, 2019 at 06:25 am

Well can’t sign anyone yet.

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dobber's picture

March 11, 2019 at 07:16 am

These guys who have been released the last couple weeks have been available. Some have been interesting, but they've been scarfed up almost immediately.

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johngalt's picture

March 10, 2019 at 06:14 pm

Most of these stories aren’t even close to being accurate. What happened to report based on facts? Everyone’s dying to be the one to break the news. None of it actually based on anything resembling actual evidence

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LeotisHarris's picture

March 10, 2019 at 07:21 pm

John, these are opinion pieces at best. Some authors attempt to be provocative, and some link to actual news sites, but for the most part what is presented here is opinion.

There are exceptions, of course, with film review by Andrew, and salary cap research. The work on the draft is quality. If you're taking time to read Zachary know he's trying to tell someone else's story with his thesaurus at hand, and if you're reading David's work, he's doing his best to create drama where none exists. In either case, opinions for us to discuss, not researched stories. It's CHTV.

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johngalt's picture

March 10, 2019 at 08:52 pm

I hear you. Appreciate the feedback. Definitely agree on the draft pieces.

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 11, 2019 at 01:28 am

" Some authors attempt to be provocative, and some link to actual news sites, but for the most part what is presented here is opinion."

Thanks for the heads up Leotis. I had no idea. I thought these were all beat reporters on the ground. Should have known better. IMPrO, the last great news reporter/journalist that actually would dig for a story using any means possible was the late Carl Kolchak.

Dash

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Coldworld's picture

March 11, 2019 at 06:29 am

In this dead time, to be fair, part of the authors job is to create discussion when there is little of substance occurring. I think they have done that well, if at the cost of some pretty dubious arguments to keep us entertained.

To my mind this is a prime example of a commentator running on empty providing something for the writer to get us tapping.

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AgrippaLII's picture

March 10, 2019 at 07:28 pm

"Keep an eye on" must be code for when a GM reaches out to a player's agent to see what the asking price will be!

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OnWisconsinGoPack's picture

March 10, 2019 at 08:21 pm

I think we should hold off. Too may quality RBs to have in rounds 4 or later. Mike Weber from OSU would be a great snag or Armstead from Temple or Ollison from Pitt.

No need to get a veteran like Ingram at the moment.

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ScaryGary's picture

March 10, 2019 at 10:54 pm

smoke on the water, fire in the sky

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Cartwright's picture

March 11, 2019 at 04:10 am

We are out of the AB sweepstakes but we absolutely need another pass catcher who the defense will need to key on other than Adams. An RB with good hands and a reputation could do the trick. Ingram sounds like a good fit. Obtaining him and Hockenson, the TE, may play very well into Lafleur's system along with adding a road grader at RG could take us to the next level.

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PAPackerbacker's picture

March 11, 2019 at 04:18 am

Spend the money to fill holes elsewhere and draft a RB in the mid rounds.

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Donster's picture

March 11, 2019 at 07:33 am

Ingram would have to come cheap. $2-$3 million a year, no big signing bonus. But I would expect he will get more somewhere else. I would agree to wait, draft a RB in the middle rounds, and wait to see who might still be available when the draft is over, and or when the final training camp cuts occur. Money is best spent elsewhere at this point in time.

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joejetson's picture

March 11, 2019 at 09:33 am

If they spend any money in Free Agency, it better be to fix atrocious defense. RB's are a dime a dozen.

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Rossonero's picture

March 11, 2019 at 12:05 pm

This'll be interesting to see how this plays out since the Bears are also interested in Ingram, while also shopping Jordan Howard.

If Ingram wants a deal beyond 3 years though, I'm less interested. If he wants a longer term deal, include incentives in it, but a 29 year old RB might as well be about 59 years old...in other words, not far off from retirement.

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AgrippaLII's picture

March 11, 2019 at 05:53 pm

I've noticed how all of these Big Name free agents have impressive histories...but all that is behind them now. They won't be that player ever again. If you can find a free agent you think still has some gas in his tank go after him...but don't overpay for him!

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Dragon5's picture

March 11, 2019 at 10:18 pm

Ingram (snake) in a pig year --> fail

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