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Expected Saints free agent Mark Ingram ‘not just looking to leave New Orleans’

The home playoff game Sunday could be the final time Mark Ingram plays for the New Orleans Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Due to become a free agent this offseason, the eight-year veteran who joined the Saints as a first-round drafted running back out of Alabama in 2011 has no obligation to stay in New Orleans beyond this season.

Even so, his focus remains on the upcoming NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams and potential Super Bowl appearance Feb. 3 in Atlanta.

“I’m not looking just to leave New Orleans,” Ingram said Monday (Jan. 14). “I’m not looking just to up and leave New Orleans. My squad, you know we got a good squad. I feel like we could do this type of thing for many more years. I’m not looking just to bail out of New Orleans.”

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Ingram turned 29 last month, putting him close to the age where running backs tend to show a performance decline, so his future could be dictated by what type of contract offer he receives if he becomes a free agent in March.

His 6,007 career rushing yards rank second in team history behind Deuce McAllister. When including postseason games, Ingram needs another 4 yards to match McAllister’s career total of 6,257 yards.

“I was drafted here. I met my wife here. My children were born here,” Ingram said. “Very rarely does anybody get to spend their career in one place. I love New Orleans. I love this team. I love this organization, so we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. I hope we win a Super Bowl and hopefully everything works out. It’s a business, and I hope everything works out. I love it here.”

Ingram topped 1,000 rushing yards in successive seasons in 2016 and 2017 but missed the first four games in 2018 due to a NFL suspension for violating the league policy regarding performance-enhancing drugs.

Ingram’s productivity increased as he became more active in the passing game by catching 50 or more passes in three successive seasons before this one.

Before the season, Ingram switched agents, signing with Detroit-based VIP Sports Management and agents Paul Bobbitt and David Jones. Previously, Ingram was represented by Joel Segal of Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, an international agency with offices in New York, Dallas and Scottsdale, Ariz.

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