Jack Vegas

Seconded. When you spent a first-round pick on a running back, you are expecting an immediate impact. When you trade up for a first-round guy, at any position, you are looking for an impact player.

Ingram took a little longer than most to become an NFL running back. Whatever reason for that, who knows. I'm just happy we're finally getting to see the Ingram we've always wanted to see. He's always shown flashes of it, but man this guy is fun to watch.

It's really not all that different from Reggie, who had just really started to turn the corner as a running back in the 2009 and 2010 seasons but we had to move on. That decision I would never argue with considering we traded it off for 3 years of Sproles in his prime. But Ingram, I think we must keep as long as it doesn't destroy the salary cap. We can cut bait with somebody like Hawthorne, or even Byrd to keep him if we need to.

blackangold

lol...

Cutting Byrd would destroy our cap for years to come due to the dead money. Also, Byrd is going to be a solid pro-bowler for us, he needs to get healthy.

Restructures of Colston, Evans, Grubbs along with cutting Bunkley/Hawthorne and extending Brees will not only free up cap space to sign Ingram but we might be able to bag a few more FAs for another superbowl push.

Jack Vegas

Not years to come, just one year.

But I was mistaken, we can't cut him next year. We can cut him prior to the 2016 season and gain a $3.1 million cap savings. For some reason I was thinking a year ahead.

Regardless, the point is, if we want to keep Ingram and pay him what he's worth, it's very doable. It's not a foregone conclusion that he will leave in free agency.