Despite Woeful Cap Situation, Saints Made Smart Decision Re-Signing Mark Ingram

The last four years haven't gone as planned for Mark Ingram.

Fireworks were primed when New Orleans traded a future first-round pick for the rights to draft the former Heisman winner with the 28th pick in the 2011 draft. The Saints already had a great offense, and Ingram was going to be the final piece.

All that followed was weeping and gnashing of teeth from Saints fans and fantasy football owners alike. 

Ingram stumbled out of the gate, unable to gain traction in a crowded backfield due to injury and ineffectiveness. That and general usage—New Orleans all but sent him out there with a sign that read "I'm about to run the ball" for much of his time there.

With Darren Sproles, Chris Ivory, Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas all eating into Ingram's playing time and generally playing better, it's a wonder he got anything going. In the end, though, the former first-round pick did start to deliver on his promise.

That is the rub, here. Despite his disappointing tenure in New Orleans, we did catch glimpses of his full potential in the NFL. The Saints chose to capitalize on the continuously depressed running back market to bring back their rising star and give him a real chance to pay off that initial investment.

The Saints re-signed their would-be free-agent running back to a four-year, $16 million deal that goes easy on the salary cap. It was a surprising turn of events, even for the locals like Saints beat writer Larry Holder: 

"

Color me surprised the New Orleans Saints secured running back Mark Ingram to a four-year deal before free agency.

Actually, color me stunned.

First, the Saints' salary cap landscape appeared as the messiest in the NFL as New Orleans looked like it was in no shape of offering a viable deal before the free market opened. Secondly, Ingram sat near the top of the list of free agent tailbacks with a few teams, specifically Philadelphia, willing to spend on a top option.

And don't kid yourself about the trade rumors surrounding Ingram more than a year ago. They were the real deal. Ingram wanted out.

"

Granted, Ingram got the largest contract over the past year for any running back not named Marshawn Lynch—until DeMarco Murray signs somewhere, at any rate—which makes him seem overpaid.

Funny how $16 million over four years seems like too much when Adrian Peterson is slated to count for $15 million against the Minnesota Vikings' cap, per Spotrac.

Where they found the room to squeeze him in this year will be interesting to see—they are still some $16 million over the cap at the time of writing, meaning either Ingram is paying the Saints to play this year or deep cuts are coming.

Of course, this is a bit like chasing a bad stock tip by pouring more money into it after it bottomed out, but there is reason to believe Ingram's resurgence is more than a mirage.

Consider his career arc:

Year	G	Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Y/A	Rec	Yds	Y/R
2011	10	122	474	5	35	3.9	11	46	4.2
2012	16	156	602	5	31	3.9	6	29	4.8
2013	11	78	386	1	34	4.9	7	68	9.7
2014	13	226	964	9	31	4.3	29	145	5

Ingram bounced back from a rocky pair of seasons to start his career. He averaged a surprising 4.9 yards per carry in 2013, and he looked like he was finally starting to put it all together after scoring three touchdowns in the first two games of 2014. 

Ingram averaged 4.6 yards per carry and 116.2 yards per game in contests where he got over 20 carries last season. Granted, game flow certainly had something to do with that—leads lend themselves to more carries, after all—but he proved he could carry the load effectively when called upon to do so.

Beyond the numbers, Ingram simply looked the part. 

The former Alabama star seemed possessed even in the preseason, running like an angry bull in Pamplona. He was finding holes, breaking tackles and scoring touchdowns like he was back in college. 

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

He had a season that was just good enough to get him into the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Of course, getting into the Pro Bowl isn't what it used to be, but it was a nice feather in Ingram's cap as he headed toward free agency.

The Saints retained a 25-year-old running back with just 635 touches to his name. For reference, Murray—last year's leading rusher and top free agent available at running back—is 27 coming off of a 500-touch season when including the playoffs. 

In other words, Ingram has plenty of tread left on those tires, and he hasn't even entered his prime. He will be paid to shoulder the load, to boot—Thomas is gone, a salary-cap casualty, and Travaris Cadet hasn't been offered an RFA tender. 

The Saints doubled down on their first-round bet, and Ingram is primed to deliver.