The New Orleans Saints are preparing for the start of 2019 NFL free agency next week, and just like every other team in the league, they have decisions to make. The Saints don’t have a lot of players jumping into free agency this year, but one big name who may test the waters is running back Mark Ingram. While he has said he would prefer to stay in New Orleans, the Saints have other options out there, including Le’Veon Bell.
Mark Ingram has become an integral part of the New Orleans Saints’ offense, and his partnership with Alvin Kamara is hard to beat. The two have come about with a great duo of “Dash and Bash,” “Thunder and Lightning,” or whatever anyone wants to call it, but it works.
After the season, Ingram was asked about free agency, and as reported by CBS Sports , he was already in discussion with New Orleans.
“I want to be back,” he said. He has gone on to say that he’s played his entire NFL career in New Orleans and has raised a family there, so, he’d like to stay.
Head coach Sean Payton and the Saints would love to have Ingram back, as he knows the system, is still playing at a high level, and fits in well. But there are other options on the free agent market and one of them is former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.
Mark Ingram or Le’Veon Bell, decision time for Saints https://t.co/LFmvZL9lrU pic.twitter.com/YTsZzhPGQY
— Who Dat Dish (@whodatdish) March 3, 2019
Who Dat Dish looked at the idea of the Saints needing to make the decision of choosing to re-sign Ingram or seeing if Bell would like to come to town.
Bell is younger than Ingram. Bell has more speed than Ingram. Bell also has nearly as many rushing yards in five seasons (5,336) than Ingram has in eight seasons (6,007). That’s not even counting 2018, when Bell sat out the entire season in a contract dispute with the Steelers.
When going at full speed and playing a full season, Mark Ingram is an extremely talented running back who plays well paired with Kamara. Le’Veon Bell is a back who can be the primary back all on his own and when partnered with Kamara, the Saints offense could reach a new level of dangerous.
The only problem with Bell is that the Saints don’t have a lot of cap space to work with this season, and he may demand more than what they have to offer. New Orleans is starting out with only $10.3 million in cap space, and they could adjust contracts to open up more, but Ingram may be the better value here.
New Orleans Saints fans, do you want Mark Ingram back or would you like to see Le’Veon Bell brought in?
